Two new Nikolaas class lifeboats have been delivered to the Royal Dutch Rescue Society (KNRM), the "Bert and Anneke Knape" for Lelystad and "HAYO" for Hoorn.
The delivery took place Friday 30 August in Volendam, the Netherlands.
Fast Rescue Crafts
The lifeboats are Fast Rescue Crafts 903, designed by Pieter Meuzelaar (Dutch Special Marine Group) and built at Habbeke Shipyard in Volendam. It is a completely new design. The KNRM's main requirement was that the sailing conditions were to remain the same as the current boats of this class. The boats have a length of 9.15 m, width 3.30 m and reach a maximum speed of 34 knots. They are equipped with a Volvo Penta D6-435 engine powering the UltraJet 377 waterjet. The crew consists of four people who can sit sheltered on specially designed chairs. The vessels are equipped to rescue twenty people at once.
Thicker Plates and Stronger Construction
The main difference with current boats of this class is that the flat plates are made thicker and the contruction stronger. The avigation mast is placed on the console instead of the stern to create more working space on the back. The fender is PE-foam with an extra durable coating.
In addition, the vessels have been made more service and maintenance friendly and other larger and smaller optimisations have been applied.
Last week, the boats were in the national news because of the theft of navigation and communication equipment. Yet the boats were still delivered to the KNRM on time.
