Lifeboat launches after 20-year restoration

Mark Raynes by the lifeboat

Mark Raynes has spent "more money than I care to talk about"

Paul O'Gorman and Emma Stanley
BBC News, Lancashire

A 100-year-old lifeboat has been relaunched after a 20-year restoration.

The vessel, Ex RNLI Manchester and Salford, once rescued mariners on the Manchester Ship Canal and Irish Sea.

It has now taken to the water in Hesketh Bank, Lancashire, after being restored by owner Mark Raynes.

The retired engineer, from Shevington, near Wigan, came to the rescue when the boat, built in 1924, was washed up and abandoned on a beach at Deganwy in north Wales.

The vessel has now taken to the water in Hesketh Bank

"Like most people I didn't have the money to buy a completed dream but being an engineer thought I could take on a project," Mr Raynes said.

"I've always loved the look of them. I love sailing, too, so I wanted a sailing Watson [class of lifeboat], and that's how I found it as a shipwreck.

"She was going to be burnt with a value of almost zero.

"It was fatal attraction from first sight."

Mr Raynes said along with about 20 friends he has put "millions of hours" into its restoration and "more money than I care to talk about".

'Rescuing an old girl'

"I can't say how much it cost because my wife would kill me," he said.

"But let's just say I could probably buy a couple of Aston Martins with what we've spent - at least."

The 59-year-old said it had not just been about "rescuing an old girl that was an important service during wartime", but the friendship of the group throughout.

"I've got an amazing group of friends and without them this wouldn't have happened.

"We're really proud, it gives us a lump in our throats to be honest," Mr Raynes said.

Mark Raynes

The boat was washed up and abandoned on a beach in Wales

Manchester and Salford

  • Built in 1924 at a cost of £8,456

  • Weighs 21 tonnes

  • Paid for by donations from people from Manchester and Salford

  • Was seen by 25,000 people at Salford Docks when she launched

  • Was stationed at Douglas, Isle of Man

  • Has been used to save more than a dozen lives

  • Came out of service in the 1940s

  • Is a Watson class, made from mahogany, elm and oak

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