DURING the past six years the Institution has placed Motor Caterpillar Tractors at a number of Stations, where they have been successfully used, instead of horses, for launching Lifeboats off flat sandy beaches, but they are not suitable for launching off shingle or very soft mud.

by a four-cylinder engine of 60 h.p.

with a speed of 12 miles an hour, which can be submerged, the carburettor and magneto being enclosed in water-tight housings. The Tractor carries a winding drum with a steel wire rope, and when she has drawn the Life-boat down to the water's edge, and pushed her.