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A-Class
These boats are so similar that they will all be grouped together on this page.
Dell Quay Dory
| Dimensions to | 17n to 20 x 6 ft | Speed | 25 kts |
| Displacement | ? | Range | ? |
| Construction | GRP Hull. | Endurance | 5 hours |
| Engines | Twin 36hp Penta outboard engines | Crew | 2/3 |
Built by Dell Quay at Chichester, West Sussex from 1967, the boat was a virtual copy of the Boston Whaler. It is reported that an employee, on his return from the US was refused permission to build it in the UK under licence. So he then started production from memory!
| No. | Name | Year | Base./Comments |
| 1 | Ex 18-01 | 1966 | Falmouth 67. Shoreham 67. Plymouth 68-72. To Kingsbridge , Devon in 1972 |
| 2 | Ex 18-03 | 1966 | Poole 67-69. Torbay 69-75. Scrapped 1974 |
| A-500 | Ex 17-001 | 1968 | Eastney 68-69. Ramsgate 69-71. Poole 72-73. Sold 1974 |
| A-501 | Ex 17-002 | 1969 | Lyme Regis 69-73. Poole 74-75. Sold out of service 1975 |
| A-502 | Ex 17-003 | 1969 | Poole 69-72. Ramsgate 72-75. Poole 75-85. Sold 1975 |
The A-502 seen at Poole, date unknown (Photo Courtesy Charlie B)
| Dimensions | 18 to 20' 6" x 8'. | Speed | 22 kts |
| Displacement | ? | Range | ? |
| Construction | Prototype built with wooden hull, rest GRP. | Endurance | ? |
| Engines | Twin inboard 60 hp petrol engines with outboard drives, later diesel engines | Crew | 2/3 |
The prototype, A-503, was built of mahogany by W. A. Souter at Cowes, IOW and the hull was used as the plug for the mould of the GRP-hulled version. The GRP boats were constructed By William Osborne at Littlehampton/Newhaven.
| No. | Ex | Year | Base./Comments |
| A-503 | 18-02 | 1967 | Eastney 67-70. Pill 71-72. Falmouth 1973 - 1980 . Not known |
| A-504 | 18-004 | 1970 | Weston-super-Mare 70-83. To ? RNLI Museum Chatham. |
| A-505 | 18-005 | 1970 | Eastney 70-71. Oban 72-73. Eastney 74-75. Humber BB 77-01. At Saul Junction with Philip Trotter in 2015. |
| A-506 | 18-006 | 1972 | Peel 72. Relief 72-76 Poole 76-79. . Plymouth 79-80. To ?? |
| A-507 | 18-007 | 1972 | Weston-super-Mare 72-73. Peel 73-75. Relief 75-76. Peel 76. Plymouth 76-83. To ?? |
| A-508 | 18-008 | 1971 | Eastney 71-74. Invergordon 74-79. Falmouth 80-88. to? |
| A-509 | 18-009 | 1972 | Plymouth 72-76. Brighton 78. Relief 78-88. At South Shields by 09/2014. Sold in Newcastle area 05/2019. |
| A-510 | 18-010 | 1973 | Pill 73-74. Ramsgate 75-84. Humber BB 86-87. To ?? Found near Dublin and moved to Bristol for restoration. |
| A-511 | 18-011 | Oban 73-80. To ?? | |
| A-512 | 18-012 | 1973 | Torbay 75-87. To ?? |
On display at the RNLI Museum at Chatham is A-504 (Photo Richard and Gill
A-505 at Saul Junction under restoration in 2015 (Photo Philip Trotter)
Pictured at Cromer, date and Author unknown is A-507, apparently it was on loan! Any ideas?
A-509 much modified,at South Shields on 08/09/14 (Photo Cliff Crone)
A-510 pictured at Ramsgate (Photo Courtesy Ramsgate LBS/ Contessa Blue
A-510 under restoration on 30/05/20 (Photo Steve Evans)
A-511 pictured off Oban (Photo Obaan LBS)
A Unmarked McLachlan seen at W-s-M in 20?? (Photo via Lester Solway)
...and another Unmarrked example at Amble in 1995 (Photographer unknown)
Boston Whaler-Class
Purchased from Boston Whaler in 1984 and refitted at Cowes ILC. The boat capsized on 23/11/86, returning 10/06/88.
| Dimensions | 20' 6" x 8'. | Speed | 30 kts |
| Displacement | ? | Range | ? |
| Construction | GRP Hull. | Endurance | ? |
| Engines | Twin 90-hp Evinrude diesel. | Crew | 2/3 |
| No. | Name | Year | Base./Comments |
| A-513 | Sam and Iris Coles | 1985 | Poole 85-95. At Hayling Island 11/2015. |
The sole A-513 Sam and Iris Coles pictured at Poole 08/09/95 (Photo Courtesy RNLI)
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