It’s called a TEMPSC (Totally Enclosed Motor Propelled Safety Craft). This one is from the Safe Brittania semi-submersible rig (a rig I personally spent some time on in the UK North Sea many years ago) which was generally used for floating accommodation. Judging by the serial number the manufacturer is Schat-Harding, a Norwegian company who specialises in this type of craft. As it was used on a rig it will have been very well maintained as there are strict SOLAS standards that apply. The unit has a lot of features that you won’t know about such as external water spray to allow it to motor through sea surface fires plus it would be pressurised in use to prevent gas ingress. Also, if I recall correctly they are also designed to be self-righting so can’t capsize (I guess that would require all the seals to be intact and the doors closed!). The exhaust fumes inside are a bit worrying as you either have the hull exhaust plugged (this would likely be under the water line) or a manifold leak, either way it should be easy enough to figure out. If you were to contact Schat-Harding with the serial number there’s a good chance that they would still have all the documentation for the vessel, worth a try.
Sweet boat, A tip for fiberglass repair especially the one on the bottom. Use a small 1-2 inch medium coarse disc sander and remove material around the hole down 3-4 layers, the next step is to go 3/4 of an inch larger and sand to one layer above the last . do this until you reach the last layer at the surface. Cut each patch to fit each layer. Its kind of like a step drill in reverse as you look at it. Then mix your resin and install the fiberglass one layer at a time make sure to remove the air bubbles if you see any. Also types of glass maybe use some thicker matt for the first two layers the cloth for the remainder. I think you could use a plastic flexible cutting board to hold the repair in place using a 2x4 holding slight pressure behind the plastic cutting board. Once it sets up the plastic should peal off. Sand and paint repair or gel coat.
MAN! THAT WAS AWESOME! Seeing these boats on other ships when I was in the Navy, I always wanted to take one for a spin. GREAT purchase! Fair winds and following seas…go to your instagram page. I sent you some photos.
It was actually pretty cool to see one of those that wasn't hanging off a larger vessel "for emergency only". When the CO alarm sounded, you did the best thing you could have...headed outside to fresh air. Good video.
I worked offshore for several years and I can tell you those safety boats have been known to have made some people so sea-sick they actually died from aneurisms. You get on one of those in an an off-shore emergency it was truly a last resort. I myself use to hide whenever they had rig drills where they actually dropped them in the water with people on board. Nope, nope, not doing it. Their cool looking though. Good luck with the restoration.
As a young man, I learned to captain a boat on the black sea, 1980 while stationed in remote Turkey. That looked so damn fun to run, congratulations on your purchase.
happy it all worked out. looking forward to the adventures you have with it. hoping you fix it up real nice and take it on some long adventures. ive seen tons of vids and articles about people converting these into homes and living in them full time out on the ocean. its pretty damn cool I hope you take care of it and look forward to your future vids with it.
Hey Ayo, congrats on getting that awesome boat, dude! I can imagine some haters saying you're nuts or whatever, but what the hell, hater's always gonna hate, and most of that nonsense is just pure jealousy. Personally I think if you're crazy, then it's a cool kind of crazy, and I wouldn't mind being crazy myself with a bad ass lifeboat of my own! I never saw any lifeboats that weren't attached to either a cruiseship or an oil right, and that was mainly in movies or documentaries, so I had no idea those boats could be put on a trailer, let alone owned by a private person. I have always been attracted to the idea of owning a boat, but the tought of getting caught in a storm in the middle of nowhere and having my boat or yacht capsize always scared the hell out of me, so I pretty much just gave up thinking about owning any boats. Then I ran into your video of when you were going to check out the boat and buy it, and I saw the footage of the lifeboat getting jettisoned from the oil rig, plunging into the sea, then bouncing right back to the surface, and I realized this is the type of boat I've always wanted and I didn't even know it, so congrats again on buying your boat, and thank you for making these videos, man! Thanks to your videos, I know now which direction I wanna go about owning a boat. I also realize now that if and when I buy my own lifeboat, I won't be as afraid of getting caught in a storm as I've always been since lifeboats are designed to be pretty much uncapsizable. Of course, weather reports and storm warnings must always be taken heed of, though, even in a lifeboat. I also understand I have a ton of research ahead of me, before I even try to find a boat for myself, but it's something cool to look forward to. Anyways, watching your video of the first time you put the boat in the water and how the engine makes so much damn noise and creates a health hazzard inside the boat by the fumes it makes, reminded me of another video about a lifeboat, which I saw shortly after your video about when you first checked out the boat with the nice old cowboy guy. It's a video about two european guys who got a lifeboat and turned it into a house boat, making it all electric and solar in the process. Here's the link to that video, I hope you like it and find it useful to your own experience: m.trvid.com/video/video-JjpCFP0jJIY.html Please keep us posted about your progress with your awesome lifeboat. Goood luck, dude, and Happy Hollidays!!
I’m not an expert filling holes in boats, but back in the time when I was surfing, I was able to fix quite a lot of holes in my surf board. We used Fiberglas and covered with resin. I would sand the area around the hole first, the apply an even amount of resin around the hole, covered with a thick layer of fiberglass and even more resin, place some paper wax and a piece of wood, from the bottom to keep the fiberglass in place and pressure using a jack and a rod. The paper wax its to avoid the wood sticking to the resin.
Have you ever considered that the hole you guys plugged in the bottom of the boat would be the exhaust? with that plugged maybe it pressurised the motor box and the only way out was through tiny cracks into the interior of the boat. That hole looked a little too perfect to be just a random hole into the inside......
haha! That was one of the best videos I've seen in a long time - from watching your fiberglass skills to actually running the boat! Never seen anything as unique as this. Loved it!
I would recommend to grease up the seals. That way they don't stick together every time you leave the hatches closed for a while. Super interesting video, love to see more!
Great video! This lifeboat was built in my hometown of Gothenburg in Sweden in the early 1980. The offshore-industry were blooming in thoose days, and we had oilrigs al over the world. Looking foreward to follow you around the world 😂. Regards from Sweden
Wish I had a skill I could market to you, but I don't think my amateur photography and editing skills would make the cut. You're living a dream of a life I'll never have. And you deserve every bit of it, man. Great attitude, even-tempered (or should I say even-keeled?), no BS. You make a lot of folks' days, mine included. Thank you for that.
@Tombomb1816 I'm a details guy. Not terribly creative, or at least not *efficiently* creative. I can spend an hour scrutinizing and rewriting a single paragraph. I'd be a great copyeditor, but not a copywriter. Regardless, you give good advice. Hard work often pays off. I'm in my 30s though. No kids, doesn't look like there will be any. I quit college to start my own business and it failed during COVID. Being the type to work 18-hour days given the chance, seeing that effort go nowhere but downhill is humbling at the very least. Just a reminder though: sometimes, things don't work out. The key is to not put all of your eggs in one basket. I did. Big mistake.
Respectfully if you were motivated to be the best videographer you possibly could and worked hard you would be good enough to make the cut. If it was a real dream and you truly wanted it you would do it. Some people want things but not bad enough to make it happen.
Awesome video! I really like your content! I don't know anything about this specific boat, but I saw some Norwegian instructions and components in there! I'm from Norway and have been working offshore on oilrigs a few times 🙂
Now that has to be featured for an “over night” fishing trip!!! Or weekend excursion, just needs an a/c with generator to stay cool with the hatches closed
Backing is basically a "joke" on those types of vessels. I've always practiced backing only when needed and using the revers/forward when turning and they will basically turn on a dime. I spot a few technical solutions as well as hull design which are similar to the Norwegian Viksund fishing vessels. Anyways it's cool to see it afloat. You'll get the hang of the controls in a breeze. 👍👍
I think I would have been terrified the whole time, but it ended up being pretty cool! I would have liked to see some of you loading it back on the trailer and pulling it out though.
Being built as a safety and life saving device, it should be built reliably and tough as nails. Carbon Monoxide alarm is legit and the alarm is another level of safety. Easy fix for you to ensure the gas doesn't get into the boat again. That engine is reliable AF unlike a domestic outboard can be. This thing was built to sit in place for years unused - although I do believe that they have to be tested periodically to ensure they are ready to go in an emergency. Great score man, and great vid - glad it all went well. Cheers.
I've seen people turn the smaller versions of these into like houseboats and it works pretty well for them; the sea keeping on them is a little bit of a pain in the ass because these really aren't meant to be used long term in the water, they're meant for short term survival stuff but because they're so reinforced and overbuilt because, you never know if the sea is going to be calm rough or on fire if it's a oil rig escape craft, you can do a LOT with them, and because 64 men is a LOT of weight, if you only expect to have at most a dozen people inside, that gives you a LOT of reserve buoyancy to use for gear and other amenitie. That top rail for example is PERFECT for strapping solar panels to, either on top or angled down to the deck to fit more panels too; I've seen pictures of one of these style life boats that someone stuck batteries and solar panels in with a backup diesel motor in and they were able to sail at a decent 10-15 knots for a few hours without even getting close to emptying the batteries.
My grandson has your eyes when he is loving whatever he is doing. I sure hope he can direct his enthusiasm in the same positive ways that you are doing. You have a gift. Don't let others throw anything negative your way. Keep it up.
Before you get too far on this project, I hope you checked out the videos from others who have refurbished these things. Pretty awesome things they've done to them.
You could replace the hand crank steering wheel with a DC motor drive with a Left /Right switch to turn the rudder so you don't have to do all of that cranking . Adding an indicating gauge to show rudder angle position would keep you straight on direction .
A 24 volt electric valve actuator might work best for converting the steering system instead for a few reasons . Drives electrically in both directions , has a handwheel you can still use for manual operation if desired (that declutches when electrically operated) . already has analog circuitry for indication for showing valve (rudder) position .
I'm so excited to see you get this and make videos I have wanted one for years You should get it sealed up good and tight and do a video Where you put some beds in it and do a video Staying the night inside it during a bad storm that would be so awesome
All I can think each time I look at this boat is what an amazing “houseboat” it would make! So much fun to watch your videos! I’m a 63 year old Grandma, but I love your videos, you guys make me laugh and giggle like a girl again.
Wow! i used to operate one like this when working on a cruise ship, it should be a double hull insulated boat even if its full of water it shoud not sink, a 3 sylinder engine, steering is water jet turn slowly not strong handeling in ruff sea, the engine is verry reliable it steering is small and you has to turn it a lot it is 3 man operated a bow man a stern man and the captain, 2 switch battery system cold start warmer for engine. i love it i would put a more powerful engine in it and blade rudder then you good to go.
I am a little concerned about the cooling of the engine. Most inboard engines are cooled by seawater which is - after used for engine cooling - lead into the exhaust to cool down the exhaust gases before the exhaust is led through the hull. I didn't see any water coming out of the exhaust ! Probably the seawater valve is closed, the water pump impeller is broken or ... you sealed the hole for the cooling water ;) . Also, the anodes ( hull, motor, perhaps gear, shaft ...) should be checked! Because the boat was build for Saltwater they are made from zinc, but for permanent use in Sweetwater they should be replaced by aluminum or magnesium.
I'm not a boater and I don't do too much fishing but I watch your videos and can appreciate your tenacity and optimism. You got to love when you bust your a** on a project and IT WORKS! Seeing this lifeboat move made my day. To be honest this is one of the only channels I watch from start to finish that are videos longer than 5 minutes because you never know what's going to happen next.... Keep em coming bro! Can't wait on the itty-bitty update fam.
Definitely fix that exhaust leak and put a starter/kill switch at the pilot station. I would put in a few more portholes and turn it into a houseboat. Put teak deck topside on either side of the center walkway that has sections that lift with the hatches. I’d like to have one, but what I’d really love to have is a 26’ jet drive, shallow draft, double hull landing craft with a sleeper cabin. I would use it for fun and flood rescue. Only problem is I’d need to get a truck to pull it and it’s really just a dream/wish, because a disabled vet without any benefits, and not able to work, ain’t buying anything sooner or later. 😥
It's probably pretty safe to say you have a one of a kind boat. Not many people have an off the oil rig escape boat, much less one on a custom made trailer. This is rad lol, been a subscriber for awhile and you're type of content isn't usually my jam. But something about your personality and way of presenting the content I'm all about. Keep on keeping on man!
I can't wait to see the future of your boat with seeing other owners of similar types. Look up "yachting world" on TRvid there is a similar boat converted into a cool living space.
you probably should have started it when it was on the trailer and felt if exhaust was coming out that hole in the bottom. Or put a borescope up through it to make sure it didn’t go to the engine area.
I would really recommend getting this boat seen by a marine surveyor if only to identify the unknown electronics and fuel capacity/gauge, as well as overall health of the fiberglass and hull overall.
@Chris clark (Mercury207)They aren't self bailing. The drain plug has to be removed or replaced manually from inside the boat. it's kept on a lanyard by the drain hole.
@J did you even read the original comment you’re replying to? There are more possibilities for the hole rather than simply a plug hole. Regardless, I didn’t speculate one way or the other. I just corrected your original comment. If you’ve ever been around big boats you would know there are many reasons why a hole could be found on the hull of a boat.
I thought it was the same life boat in southern harbor. Cool to know it actually is 😂 if you ever need help with working on it or any help with any projects let me know. I live on county road 222. When I seen it I was like wait a minute is that the same one? Or did someone else buy one too😂
it`s possable its the raw water inlet you blocked up from the position under the boat, most marine engins are cooled by a heat exchanger and pass raw water out of the exhaust, as no water was comming out of the exhaust it was possably the engine overheating that set off the alarms.
You need to use a brush and coat the surface first then put your cloth on and stipple it with more resin and you should have removed paint to access the raw fiberglass so as to achieve adhesion and then add multiple layers
Yes!!! Freaking love your content!! Thanks so much for the many hours of amazing content. Nothing makes me forget a stressful day like a new Ayo video!!!
An actual launch is probably out of the question. Next best thing: you + 63 more people. The Party Bouy Also, when you finally fish on this thing, you're a lot less likely to drop your bass back into the lake hehehe
Please, please, please give us videos of yours more often. It's the highlight of my day when I see you have a new video out. I don't care what it's about. The chemistry you have with Davey and also with Norm are the best. You can handle it yourself or you can do collabs with them, you can do it all. Your comedic timing is impeccable, your delivery is perfect and the facial expressions and camera stares just are right on target. Thank you for putting this video out today. My dog died last night and your video is the first time I've cracked a smile all day.
@Tyler Woody agreed, but he did also say he was looking for a new camera/editing guy. Whoever the current person is does a great job. An excellent job. But possible someone in the future might be able to provide us with more content. That's my hope anyway. If not, I will just look forward to the videos as they come out.
Did he ever mention what he paid for it?? I can see this being used for overnight stays or even a lakeside bar & grill. Cutting away most of the side walls and putting windows in and you got something that no one will forget
they use acid to get the bottoms of boats back to condition again, no need to repaint, use muriatic acid diluted with a little water and a crap broom (it will melt a little) and if your getting carbon monoxide into the engine compartment it will kill your engine power aswell, MUST be an exhuast leak, fiberglass repair is like welding (prep wise) you just have to grind away alot more material to have enough surface area to hold on to when you lay up the glass and make sure to follow up with a good amount of gelcoat for durability
I wondered what happened to this vessel!?! Ayo, you should be soooo proud of how far you have coming doing these amazing repairs on your own! Very impressed!
![*SPECIAL* Lifeboat Conversion Ep20: Multi-day sea trials in the Thames Estuary, England [4K]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/nls6mFLzNe0/mqdefault.jpg)
