O
riginally Built in 1947 by Phillips and Son in Dartmouth for Trinity House, this vessel was on station in many locations off the East Coast of England and in the English Channel. The first vessel to be built by Trinity House after the war. L.V.I was taken ut of commission in 1993 and sold to Dean & Reddyhoff Ltd for their Haslar Marina Project.
Light vessels used to be fully manned by a crew of 6-8 people keeping watch 24 hours a day. Their prime function was to maintain operation of the vessel and the latern, but they would also send in regular weather reports to the Meteorological Office. Initially Crews would have been relieved by boat, but a helicopter deck was added later to ease this process. However control, the crews became redundant and all accommodation was stripped out leaveing a sealed, empty hull with two generators and a light.
So it was in 1993 when L.V.I's new owners John dean and Richard Reddyhoff squeezed through tiny hatches and down long ladders each clutching a torch and an old plan to see if they had bitten off more than they could chew. In due course a master plan was evolved and the men with the burning gear were brought in the make a start on the structure.
