Scale: 1:12. A contemporary full hull model of a self-righting pulling and sailing lifeboat (1885) made in the builder’s style. The hull is carved from wood in ‘bread and butter’ fashion and is fitted with oars, rowlocks, grab lines, both internally and externally, and a single lifebuoy. It is also fitted with a single drop keel amidships to improve the sailing qualities of the rather shallow hull design. It is quite probable that this model was commissioned to show this innovative feature as the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) subsequently introduced the use of the drop keel from the mid 1880s onwards. The hull is also fitted with large watertight air cases at the bow and stern which if the boat were overturned in rough weather, would raise the hull making it unstable and causing it to right itself.

Large numbers of this type of boat were built for the RNLI ranging from 35 to 45 feet in length, and were either launched directly off a beach or down a slipway from a boathouse.