Kinghorn Lifeboat Station was established in 1965 as a D Class station when the RNLI recognised the need for better rescue coverage in the Firth of Forth as leisure traffic grew. The first station was a small shed-like structure, just large enough for the D Class lifeboat to fit in. Launching of the summer only craft was by hand, down the soft sand of the Kinghorn Beach, which was not easy for the crews to manage. In 1985, twenty years after the first station was built, Kinghorn received a new class of boat - a twin engined C Class lifeboat. This boat (C514) was stationed in Kinghorn's new Ma...

County Tractor and RNLI DODO trailer This is our launching tractor. It is a marinised Ford County tractor, produced by Mike Biglands of Wales. The tractor pushes our DODO (Drive On Drive Off) trailer with the lifeboat on it, over the beach and into the sea off Kinghorn. When the lifeboat reaches floating depth she is driven straight off the trailer, which leaves the poor tractor driver to trundle back up the beach and wait until she returns! The tyres in our tractor are 3/4 full of WATER, which helps to stop her from floating away if she encounters large waves or goes in too deep.

Atlantic 85 "Tommy Niven" This is our lifeboat. It is an Atlantic 85 class RNLI lifeboat - designed and built in-house by the RNLI at it's Inshore Lifeboat Center in Cowes, Isle of Wight. This RIB can be brought back upright if she is capsized by a heavy sea. She has twin engines so she can carry on after a single engine failure, if the steering fails we have emergency steering mechanisms... The list is endless. She also has water ballast in her bow which the crew can dump and fill whenever they need to, allowing them to have intricate control over her sea handling and, if it is calm en...

Kinghorn Lifeboat Station Our current lifeboat station, which was built in 1995, is more than just a shelter for the boat. Previous stations built at Kinghorn from 1965 onwards have basically been garages in which the boat and equipment were kept. This, our third station, has crew changing facilities, a shower, toilets, and operations room and even a kitchen! It is centrally heated and double glazed, helping to keep the shore helpers warm when the boat is at sea, even in the harshest of winters. There is plenty of room for equipment storage alongside our boat and tractor downstairs - wh...