The lifeboat they laughed at
It all began when my husband Rob’s work took him down to Southampton where, on his travels, he happened to spot an old boatyard. Of course he had to have a look around, and this is where he spotted Arklow a sorry looking old RNLI lifeboat that was built in 1938.
He’d always wanted a lifeboat and this one happened to be a Watson 41, which to him was one of the best types ever built. She was a beautiful shape.
It was not long before he took me down for a viewing. I must admit that I was speechless for a while; what I saw was a shambles! She was holed in at least three places, one of which was quite large and the others were not exactly small.
The boat had been bought from the RNLI some years before by a fisherman and had unfortunately been swept onto the rocks in some very rough weather, hence the damage. Matters didn’t improve much upon climbing aboard. The original cabins had been removed and the previous owner had built a wheelhouse in the style of a telephone box. There were no engines and, as I looked down into the engine room, all I could see were rusty engine bearers and the ground below through the largest hole.
If we bought her
