UP to the present all the motor life- boats in the Institution's fleet have been driven by petrol engines. The reason has been that, although the heavy oil used in Diesel engines is less inflammable than petrol, and the risk of fire much smaller, the ordinary Diesel engines, with their low speed of revolution, have been too heavy for life-boats. In recent years the speed of the revolutions in Diesel engines has been greatly increased, and as a result the weight has been reduced to little more than the weight of petrol engines of the same horse-power.

During the greater part of last year the Institution was experimenting with a six-cylinder 85-h.p. Diesel engine, running at 1,600 revolutions a minute, and weighing 26J cwts., which was specially built for it. This engine was installed in a reserve motor life-boat, the first of the 45-feet Watson Cabin life-boats, which had originally been stationed at Tenby. The engine is water-tight, and one of the preliminary trials to which it was put was an hour's run with the engine-room flooded.

During this run the engine was stopped and started again.

After these trials the life-boat was stationed temporarily, first at Wey- mouth and then at Falmouth, replacing the boats at these stations during their overhaul in the summer; and in November she was permanently sta- tioned at Yarmouth in the Isle of Wight, replacing another motor life-boat of the Watson Cabin type.

The Institution then ordered two 40-h.p. Diesel engines, and these are to be installed in the new 46-feet Watson Cabin life-boat which is shortly to be built for Selsey..