Many like I, feel it would not be right without a mention of the boat that has served so gallantly alongside the 44. I of course refer to the four 52ft Motor Lifeboats built between 1956 and 1963. Many feel that these are the most successful lifeboats ever built.

Two other 52ft Motor Lifeboats, the 52300 “Invincible” and the 52301 “Triumph”, also known as Type F, preceded these four lifeboats. They had bronze alloy superstructures and wooden hulls. They were the first Coast Guard lifeboats to be fitted with diesel engines and there single Buda engine gave them a cruising speed of 10.5 knots. Unlike the later four 52’s they were not self-righting.

The “Triumph” was tragically lost with five of her six crew, on the night of the 12 January 1961. They were assisting a 38ft crab boat the “Mermaid”, which had got into difficulties of Peacock Spit at the entrance of the Columbia River. Sadly the “Mermaid” was also lost with her crew of two. Conditions were so atrocious that two other Coast Guard boats were also lost but luckily without any further loss of life.

The second-generation 52’s have proven there worth and all four are still in service after fifty years (2006). They are steel hulled and the inherent buoyancy in there aluminum superstructure allows them to self-right. With twin diesel engines they have a top speed of 11 knots.

Unlike the 44’s, the 52’s have names as well as identification numbers.