The Life-boat transporting-carriage is a very important auxiliary to the beat. Every Life-boat, except a few of the larger size, is provided with a carriage, on which she is kept in the boat-house ready for immediate transportation to the most favourable position for launching to a wreck.

A Life-boat is thus made available for a greater extent of coast than she otherwise would be; and then when launched from abreast of the boat-house, can be much quicker conveyed to the water's edge than she could be if not on a carriage. In addition to this ordinary use, a carriage is of immense service in launching a boat from a beach, to that extent, indeed, that one can be readily launched from a carriage through a high surf, when without one she could not be got off the beach.

The carriage consists of a fore and main body. The latter is formed of a keelway, and of side or bilgeways attached to the keelway, and resting on the main axle, the boat's weight being entirely on the rollers of the keelway. Its leading characteristic is that on the withdrawal of a forelock pin the fore and main bodies can be detached from each other. The advantages of this arrangement are that, whilst the weight of the boat when she is launched from the rear end forms an inclined plane by elevating the keelway and fore-carriage, to replace her on the carriage she can be hauled bow foremost up the fore end or longer incline, by disconnecting the fore-carriage, and letting the end of the keelway rest on the ground, thus forming an inclined plane up which the boat is easily drawn. The bilgeways are needed at the rear end, that the boat may be launched in an upright position, with her crew on board, but they are not required at the fore end of the carriage.