Casgliadau Arlein

Rigid hull inflatable boat. Rigid hull is painted red, with grey plastic inflatable sides. The boat has on it a Yamaha 4 stroke motor which is for diplay purposes only, and is not accessioned. It is also on an unaccessioned galvanised boat rack.

This type of craft was used extensively as inshore lifeboats around the coast of Wales, but was built using the original hull mould of the classic RNLI Atlantic 21 B Class lifeboat - the first of these being placed in service at Hartlepool in 1972. With the special design feature of a stub transom and not a complete back board which allows any water to run away off the back end of the boat. Atlantic College was instrumental in designing and testing these boats and as such holds a special place in modern Welsh maritime history (it is the birthplace of the rigid hull inflatable boat).