15 Toughest Offshore Boats Ever Built

The toughest offshore boats ever built, from self-righting lifeboats and record-breaking interceptors to expedition yachts that crossed oceans. Here's what makes each one tough, and which ones proved it when conditions turned against the crew. We cover 15 boats, each backed by a capsize test, a documented voyage, a rough-water record or a real rescue: the Safehaven Thunder Child that was deliberately rolled and came back upright, the Nordhavn 40 that circled the planet straight off the production line, the RNLI Tamar and Shannon lifeboats, the US Coast Guard 47-foot Motor Lifeboat, Dashew's FPB 78 Cochise, the Bertram 31 Moppie that changed offshore hull design, and the Barnett-class lifeboat St Cybi, whose 1966 storm rescue earned 17 gallantry medals. Along the way: watertight compartments, self-righting design, deep-V and Sea Axe hulls, steel and aluminum construction, and the range and redundancy that let a boat operate far from help. CHAPTERS 00:00 - Intro 00:25 - Safehaven Marine XSV17 Thunder Child 02:18 - Nordhavn 40 04:07 - RNLI Tamar Class Lifeboat 05:59 - Bering 77 08:08 - Safehaven Marine XSV20 Thunder Child II 10:03 - Metal Shark 45 Defiant 12:04 - Dashew Offshore FPB 78 Cochise 14:15 - Stabicraft 2500 Ultracab XL 16:02 - RNLI Shannon Class Lifeboat 17:39 - Diesel Duck 462 19:50 - Damen Stan Patrol 5009 21:38 - Allseas 92 23:22 - U.S. Coast Guard 47-Foot Motor Lifeboat 25:01 - Bertram 31 Moppie 26:44 - RNLI 52-Foot Barnett Class Lifeboat — St Cybi