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The Restoration of Helen Smitton.
The World's Oldest Surviving Motor Lifeboat in Seagoing Condition - when Re-launched in 2021
Helen Smitton is very largely intact, being reconstructed to original condition using, where possible, the same materials and methods employed in 1910 when built by the Thames Ironworks, London, in 1910.
So why is she being restored & by whom?
Helen Smitton is one of the first purpose-built motor lifeboats. When launched in 2019 she will be the oldest motor lifeboat in the World in seagoing condition. She will not be a replica as the vast majority of her construction is still in place. Unlike other "restorations" no fibreglass has been used and all her original hull planks and frames remain in place.
She is being reconstructed by Malcolm Brown who is a trained and qualified Boatbuilder, Engineer, Industrial Archaeologist, Academic and Consultant to The National Lottery Fund. Recognising her importance, he purchased the vessel and it is his hope that she will be returned to Scotland and that a trust be set up to run and maintain her in seagoing condition.
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