How do you launch an 18-tonne, £2+ million lifeboat half a mile up a beach?

Watch the Shannon Launch and Recovery System (SLARS) in action! This unique portable slipway allows our crews to launch our Shannon class lifeboat in locations that would be otherwise inaccessible.

Weighing in at 37 tonnes, this impressive piece of kit can carry the 18-tonne Shannon over all kinds of beach terrain, from steep shelving shingle to wet, sticky sand.

The tractor can then drive straight into big surf and safely launch the lifeboat in up to 2.4m of water. Not only that, in the event of breakdown with an incoming tide, the watertight tractor can be completely submerged in depths of up to 9m before being retrieved once the tide has receded.

All of these features add up to saving valuable time in lifesaving situations.

Thumbnail image by Nigel Millard.
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The RNLI is the charity that saves lives at sea. 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, lifeboat crews around the UK and Ireland are ready to launch to help those in need. Whether you're stuck on a sinking ship, cut off by a rapidly rising tide, or in the water and close to drowning, RNLI crew members will drop everything to come to your rescue. 95% of RNLI lifeboat crews and station staff are volunteers.

But it’s not just lifeboats. RNLI lifeguards patrol 248 beaches across the UK and Channel Islands, keeping people safe, providing safety advice and rescuing those in trouble. Education volunteers visit schools and swimming clubs to help teach the next generation how to enjoy the water safely. And volunteer fundraisers and shop workers give up their time to generate vital funds. The RNLI is also working to help communities around the world that are most at risk of drowning.

If you spot someone in trouble in the water, call 999 or 112 and ask for the coastguard.

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Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), a charity registered in England and Wales (209603), Scotland (SC037736), the Republic of Ireland (20003326), the Bailiwick of Jersey (14), the Isle of Man, the Bailiwick of Guernsey and Alderney of West Quay Road, Poole, Dorset BH15 1HZ