Registration number 421
Status Registered
a12admin

Previous names

  • 1933 - 1977 Charles Cooper Henderson
  • 1977 - 2018 Caresana

Details

Function Service Vessel
Subfunction Lifeboat
Location Wallingford
Vessel type Watson Beach Class Lifeboat
Current use Private use
Available to hire Yes
Available for excursions No

Construction

Builder Groves & Gutteridge Ltd, Cowes
Built in 1933
Hull material Wood
Rig None
Number of decks 1
Propulsion Motor
Number of engines 1
Primary engine type Diesel
Boiler type None
Boilermaker None

Dimensions

Breadth: Beam
12.30 feet (3.75m)
Depth
3.80 feet (1.16m)
Length: Overall
40.98 feet (12.50m)

History

Built in 1933 by Groves & Gutteridge at Cowes, Isle of Wight, CHARLES COOPER-HENDERSON is an RNLI lifeboat. Her hull is double diagonal mahogany on oak and her current engines are twin 50 bhp Ford Perkins diesels. Her mast and sails are those that were installed in the 1930s. She served as a lifeboat until she was sold out of service in 1974. She is also a Dunkirk Little Ship. She was the longest serving RNLI motor lifeboat

Her post service names include MARIE and ELIZABETH SPENCER. In 1977, Peter and Eileen Larkin rebuilt her as a motor yacht.

She was bought in 1986 by her private owners and was based in St Peter Port, Guernsey.

Under new ownership in 2018, the vessel has returned to her original name and is currently based in Wallingford.

Update, February 2021: A Gofundme page has been set up to help raise funds for the vessel: www.gofundme.com/f/help-save-charles-a-dunkirk-rnli-hero

Sources

Barnett, J R, Modern Motor Lifeboats, 1933
Brann, Christian, The Little Ships of Dunkirk: 1940-1990, Collectors Books Ltd, 1989

Own this vessel?

If you are the owner of this vessel and would like to provide more details or updated information, please contact info@nationalhistoricships.org.uk