HISTORY & SPECIFICATION:
DENEYS REITZ was one of the last era of lifeboats to be built for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution by Groves & Gutteridge, Cowes. She served at Fowey on the Atlantic South West coast from 1954 to 1980 and was involved in several celebrated rescues, including that of a large yacht dismasted in the disastrous Fastnet Race of 1979.
Full original RNLI and Conversion plans are available.
The 47ft Watson was one of the final developments of the basic hull design laid out by George Watson in the late nineteenth century and was designed by James Barnett. The Watson Mark One dates from 1947, the design revised in 1956. These were the final Watson type boats to be built and survived in service almost to the end of the displacement hull era.
When DENEY REITZ was retired from RNLI service, she served as a pilot boat for a number of years and was eventually left to rot on a mud berth on Canvey Island near London.
The current owners, since 1995, were looking for a new way of life following retirement from full-time work. The boat seemed to meet their requirement for long distance seagoing adventures in Northern Europe. After a careful survey that confirmed the boat could be saved, they commissioned three craftsmen from Norfolk – a shipwright who had built and converted several large wooden craft, a marine engineer who had worked in Greece and Australia and had returned to Britain and a furniture maker who had also built boats.
The conversion of an all-weather lifeboat into a seaworthy and extremely comfortable cruising vessel took over three years. DENEY REITZ’s first voyage as a cruising boat was going around the British Isles in 2000.
After that, the boat has been based in many parts of North Western Europe – being over-wintered in Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Netherlands – before returning to the West-Coast of Scotland for seven years. In the nearly 20 years of cruising adventures, the boat and crew have visited the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, the Isle Of Man, Scotland, Wales, England, Belgium, France, Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Luxembourg. In 2015 she returned to Sweden where she has overwintered for three years.
A key feature of the boat is its extreme versatility: It is equally comfortable in small canals, on big fast-flowing rivers like the Rhine and off Lindesnes, the Southern Cape of Norway in a near gale.
The owners having been sailing for nearly thirty years and having reached the ages of 81 and 79 respectively, have decided to move on to other adventures. They are now prepared to sell the boat to owners who would appreciate its qualities, capability, history and remarkable style.
The hull, engines and all facilities are in excellent condition and have been regularly professionally serviced
Anybody interested can find much more about the vessel, and all who worked on its conversion – as well as a history of the crew, visitors, voyages and descriptions of some of the fascinating places visited.
Much more information is on our website – www.lifeboatdeneysreitz.co.uk
We also have a full service history of DENEY REITZ as a lifeboat and comprehensive documents.
Length 46 ft. 9 inches (approx 14.5 metres) Beam 3.9 metres, draught only 1.55 metres, suitable for quite small canals as well as the Southern Cape of Norway!
Engines 2 Ford/ Thornycroft 380D diesels. Total power 240 horsepower. Fuel consumption 11 litres per hour at 8 knots cruising speed. Approximately 2000 hours from the rebuild, Serviced every 100 hours. Burns virtually no oil.
Twin 27-inch propellers in tunnels, fully protected from grounding
7 kw bow-thruster
2.5-metre Dinghy, life-raft, 2.5 Horsepower outboard motor, bicycle.
Radar, Depth Sounder, Fishfinder, Autopilot, Compass, GPS, Static and handheld radios.
Fuel capacity, 2400 litres of diesel. Domestic water 1200 litres. Holding tank 60 litres
Two bathrooms with toilets, separate cabins each with two berths + 2 additional berths
Very large refrigerator, 4 burner cooker and oven.
Generous storage space, dining seating for 6 people in comfort
Wheelhouse: 3.2 x 2.3 m. Timber floor, 2 sprung lorry seats with cupboards under. 0.7 m chart locker with cupboard under. Bench seat with tools locker below.
Step down to washroom/WC – 1.1 x 1.2
Cupboards to full height on the same level
2 steps down to Main Cabin – 4.2 x 2.5 m
Double bunk at rear – 1.93 long x 1.44 wide
Cupboards on both sides – 2 lockers with shelves above and 2 hanging cupboards.
Double bunk made from dining area – 2.10 x 1.20 – with storage areas under.
Large bookshelves
Galley area – sink and small drainer, four-burner cooker, oven and grill, very large refrigerated chest with top access, 3 storage cupboards, 4 drawers.
Engine room with access from the wheelhouse
Easy access to engines for servicing and daily checks
Below deck cabin
Access through deck hatch down the original ladder.
3.40 x 2.05 at widest point
Two bunks – 2.0 x 0.8 m
Seats (0.5m) alongside each bunk with storage under both bunks and seats
Washroom/WC with cupboards
INVENTORY:
The boat is fully equipped with cooking equipment and crockery/cutlery. Plenty of bedding; 2 folding chairs; 2 wetsuits; spare gas bottle; bicycle, a large number of English language books; charts and pilot books; tools; life jackets.
GUIDE: SOLD
LYING: Sweden
VIEWING: Through CLASSIC YACHT BROKERAGE
