Norfolk and Suffolk-class lifeboats were a class of lifeboat operated almost exclusively off the coast of East Anglia. The first boats found favour with the various rescue societies, such as the Norfolk Shipwreck Association and the Suffolk Humane Society, as well as companies of Boatmen, such as the Gorleston Rangers, before being adopted and continued by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI).
Purpose-built lifeboats first appeared towards the end of the 18th century. Some of the first were designed by Lionel Lukin who adapted local boat designs to be more buoyant so they could operate safely in rough seas. He designed one for the Suffolk Humane Society in 1807 for use at . It was based on a local yawl with a shallow draft, and sails so it could reach offshore sandbanks, but oars were also provided.
The design proved successful and was adopted by other lifeboat services in East Anglia including the Norfolk Shipwreck Association. The Suffolk Humane Society merged with the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) in 1855 as did the Norfolk Shipwreck Association in 1857.
The RNLI continued to build lifeboats to the Norfolk and Suffolk design, and stationed them at other places on the east coast, between the River Thames and the Humber.
The Norfolk and Suffolk-class lifeboat were usually of a larger size, typically being around in length. The boat were non-self-righting, but usually had a broad beam for stability, typically . However, some smaller Norfolk and Suffolk-class lifeboats, around in length, were produced for closer inshore work, and are generally referred to as 'Surf-Boats'.
The last Norfolk and Suffolk-class lifeboat was built in 1925 and was in use until 1953. The design evolved throughout this time, the last boats being built with petrol engines.
The Lowestoft lifeboat of 1807 was long and wide. It had wood and cork 'wales' or pads deep that projected up to from the sides. Empty casks along the inside of the sides with two more each at the front and back of the boat to give it buoyancy. An iron keel was fitted and a large volume of water ballast kept it lower in the water so that it cut through the waves instead of riding up and down over them. The water ballast was let in and out by plugs in the bottom to reduce the boat's weight when being launched and recovered from the beach. It had three masts, lug sails and 12 oars.
Most of these features continued to be used in Norfolk and Suffolk lifeboats built during the next 85 years. The empty casks were replaced by detachable wood and canvas air cases along the sides and fixed air boxes in the bow and stern like Palmer-class lifeboats. The water ballast, up to 7 tons of it, was just left in the bottom of the boat so lifeboat crews worked in wet conditions. If too much water was taken on board, the excess drained out through gaps along the side. They were rigged with 2 lug sails.
The RNLI staged a trial of sailing lifeboats in 1892. Of the four different boats, the Norfolk and Suffolk class was deemed the least effective. The trial was held at Lowestoft and that station's two-year-old lifeboat was used. The water ballast proved to be a problem, the boat getting into difficulty in the surf close to the beach before the water ballast could be taken in. Even when properly ballasted, the boat could become unstable as water was able to shift side-to-side and back-and-front. Boats built after the trial had the water ballast constrained in tanks beneath a deck in the centre of the boat where it was not able to shift so much. Valves were fitted to allow water above the deck to drain out. An alteration was also made to the shape of the wales so that waves flowed over them better; in the past they sometimes waves coming from the side got caught under the wale and pushed the boat over the opposite side.
The RNLI deployed its first experimental motor lifeboat in 1904 and in 1905 converted three pulling and sailing lifeboats into motor lifeboats. One of these was 's Norfolk and Suffolk-class lifeboat James Stevens No.14. It was fitted with a Blake 40 hp petrol engine with 4 cylinders and running at 550 . Tests on 7 June 1906 measured the converted lifeboat's speed to be . It was then sent to Harwich for sea trials in October. These were completed in February 1907, after which the boat returned to Walton-on-the-Naze to take up duty.
The engines in motor lifeboats were regarded as a supplement to sails at first but the experimental conversions were deemed a success. Construction of new motor lifeboats was protracted as it was difficult to obtain the parts and skilled staff, especially during World War I. Three Norfolk and Suffolk class motor lifeboats were built for service at East Anglian stations in the 1920s. The engines were a 4-cylinder 60 bhp unit in John and Mary Meiklam Of Gladswood of 1921, and 6-cylinder engines of 80 bhp in the two boats built in 1923 and 1925.