The Shoreham Harbour Lifeboats by A. K. Oliver and J. C. Harrison The Shoreham Harbour Lifeboats was first compiled by Anthony Oliver, now the RNLI's deputy head of fundraising and marketing, nearly 30 years ago but the station's honorary secretary John Harrison has now completed the task of adding the years from 1965 to bring the story up to date to the 1990s.

Tracing the story from the sketchy records of the earliest known lifeboat in the town in about 1845 the booklet chronicles in more detail the RNLI years beginning in 1865 with the pulling and sailing Ramonet and ending with the current Tyne and D class.

Illustrated with some period and some more modern photographs the booklet is a fascinating insight into a town's lifeboat history.

The Shoreham Harbour Lifeboats is available at £2.30 (including p&p) from the honorary secretary, John Harrison at 12 Downsway, Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex BN43 5GH.Rigid Inflatable Boats by Colin Jones Published by Waterline at £14.95 ISBN 1 853103136 The RNLI was a pioneer in the use of rigid inflatable boats (RIBs) following the work of Rear Admiral Desmond Hoare and the subsequent introduction of the Atlantic 21 - which has now given over 20 years sterling service as a lifeboat.

Since then the virtues of the RIB have become recognised in a much wider field and the type is frequently seen in military, safety and leisure uses. This book by Colin Jones looks both at the development and handling of the breed and also the various uses to which it can be put. Safety figures frequently in the text and the Atlantic 21 comes in for mention on several occasions - usually as the 'industry standard' for the safest RIB around.

A valuable book for the RIB owner (or those aspiring to be) readable, practical and obviously based on the seamanlike author's long experience.

Boat Handling Under Power A Motorboat and Yacht Owners' Guide by John Mellor Published by Adlard Coles at £9.99 ISBN 0-7136-3641-6 The cover photograph, a modern fast motor yacht, might mislead potential purchasers of John Mellor's excellent volume into believing that it concerns itself just with this type of boat. However it is the second line of the title which is most relevant, as here we have a book in which the sailing yacht, displacement motor cruiser or workboat are given equal weight. Indeed the scope of this well-illustrated book goes further than the cover might imply, examining not only the basics of handling boats under power but also mooring, anchoring, grounding, rescue work and many other more specialised aspects.

Even sailing boats are now manoeuvred under power more often than sail in confined waters, and it is the way in which the boat is handled in these situations which reflects most on the skills and abilities of her helmsman.

John Mellor's useful and readable book is an excellent step towards avoiding embarrassment (and damage) in front of the assembled marina multitudes and perhaps reducing the number of lifeboat call-outs! Lists of British Lifeboats Combined Edition revised and edited by Jeff Morris Published by the Lifeboat Enthusiasts Society The late Grahame Farr produced Part 1 of his List of British Lifeboats (non self-righting pulling and sailing lifeboats) in 1983 and Part 2 (the self-righting equivalents) was published later, after his death, in November that year.

Jeff Morris, the honorary archivist of the Lifeboat Enthusiasts Society has now made amendments which have come to light in the intervening years and arranged for the two volumes to be published in a new combined form, listing, for the first time all pulling and sailing lifeboats (RNLI and non-RNLI) which have been built in this country.

The book is available from Mike Searle at 16 Picketts, Welwyn Garden City, Herts AL8 7HJ for £5. Cheques should be made payable to the Lifeboat Enthusiasts Society.

Also received.

Looking After Your Dinghy by Terry Smith published by Adlard Coles Nautical at £9.99 Well illustrated, 96-page softback.

Covers maintenance and repair of hull, rig and fittings for racing or cruising dinghies.Two aspects of Lytham St Annes The Ladies A Century of Service by Frank Kilroy Frank Kilroy is the honorary secretary of Lytham lifeboat station and a regular contributor to lifeboat history in the area. However, in this booklet he turns the spotlight away from the station and the lifeboats themselves on to those who have worked so hard to fund the activities of the service.

This celebration of the 100 years of St Annes Ladies Lifeboat Guild (the first to reach this milestone) is a fascinating glimpse of the way in which fundraising has changed during a century of 'progress'. Starting with the work of Charles Macara and his wife in support of the men who manned the wood-built pulling and sailing lifeboat it ends with the work of the guild in the early 90s, as they prepare for their 100th year in 1993 in support of the current generation of lifeboatmen in the town's steel built Tyne class.

The booklet is also available by post from Mrs I. W.

Miller-Hynde,21 Greenwich Drive, Ansdell, Lytham St Annes, Lancashire at £4.20 including P&P.

On Those Infernal Ribble Banks A Record of Lytham St Annes Lifeboats by David Forshaw The intriguing title of this 185-page soft-back book stems from a quote attributed to the master of a schooner wrecked on the Ribble Banks in 1856 - far from the first or last vessel to suffer a similar fate on the sandbanks which infest the 50sq miles of the wide Ribble estuary.

The difficult conditions, with shallow waters, fast tidal streams and short steep seas have shaped the Lytham and St Annes lifeboats' history since the first RNLI station was established in the 1850s. David Forshaw has a long association with the station and his book is a welljudged mixture of history and accounts of some of the more difficult services over the years.

The book is available by post at £6.20 including p&p from the honorary Secretary of Lytham St Annes Lifeboat Station, Frank Kilroy, at 35 Ripon Road, Ansdell Lytham, Lancashire FY8 4DS.

Cheques should be made payable to' RNLI Lytham St Annes Station Branch'..