United States Coast Guard 44-Foot Motor Lifeboat 1:12 Scale Printed Plans

United States Coast Guard 44-Foot Motor Lifeboat

by Charles S. Fax

Full Size Printed Plan & Building Notes

No material plans only

VINTAGE PLAN FROM 1987

Full size printed plans on 64” x 32”, 56” x 33” and 48” x 20’

Twelve Page Article with Building notes and photos FOR 1:48 SCALE ONLY

Scale 1:12

Length 44 ¾”

Beam 12 ¾”

Power Electric or gas

Suitable for Radio Control

The U.S. Coast Guard 44' motor lifeboat is a self-righting type designed in 1960 to replace their aging 36' motor lifeboats. This 44-footer has a steel hull with an aluminum superstructure and is a radical departure in design from previous self-righting type boats. Her construction reflects the heavy duty necessary in emergency rescue situations. There are over 100 of these in service with innumerable changes having been made since their introduction. One change altering their configuration and operating characteristics is the new rudder which was required as of 1978. The R.N.L.I. (SIS #15) in England also adopted this design known as the Waveney type.

The model in this article depicts the 44301, the first production boat, and is shown as she appeared in 1966 at Chatham, Massachusetts, on Cape Cod. Photos of other 44-footers were also used to check details and some of the more obvious changes. If you have a particular boat in mind for modeling, it's a good idea to make arrangements to photograph it for design and equipment changes. The hull is the same for all boats except for the new rudder shape shown on the plans and the splash strakes which are now triangular welded steel. This isn't an easy project to construct owing to the complexity of the hull form, the sunken well deck, and the open wheelhouse, but it produces a very distinctive and colorful model.