Scale: 1:12. A contemporary full hull model of a pulling and sailing self-righting lifeboat (1855-61) mounted on its original wooden baseboard. It is fully equipped with a full set of oars, painted in both blue and white for the different sides of the boat, one large steering oar, two boat hooks, lifebuoy, masts, spars and sails. The hull is painted in the traditional colours of blue and white, with air cases fitted at the bow and stern. The air cases would make the hull unstable if it overturned, and together with a heavy iron ballast keel, the boat would eventually self-right itself.

The National Lifeboat Institution insignia (now known as the RNLI when given its Royal patronage in 1863) is painted on the bows, and these models were produced for publicity purposes or given as a token of thanks to individuals who donated money for the purchase of a lifeboat. From 1860 to 1915, this class of lifeboat ranged from twenty-eight feet to forty feet in length and formed the backbone of the RNLI fleet. They were manned by volunteers, and were stationed all over the UK as well as being adopted by lifesaving institutions abroad.

These boats could be launched in a variety of ways and depending upon the terrain; they were moored afloat, or launched from a boathouse down a slipway, or off of a horse drawn trailer directly into the surf. The reverse sheer at the bow and stern would suggest an early boat as designed by James Peake, and at this scale, represent a hull measuring thirty-two feet in length pulled by ten oars. The fact that the rudder can be raised or ‘triced up’ would indicate that this boat was either launched down a slipway or from a carriage on the beach into the water.