In 2007 the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) decided to introduce an inshore lifeboat service at Dartmouth to serve the River Dart and surrounding coast.

Allan Bloomfield, RNLI Deputy Shore Works Manager, searched for a suitable supplier for a timber building. He found the John Shields Woodwork website and made contact.
After visiting our premises and seeing samples, he was happy to ask for a quotation.

Allan said “We had received cheaper quotes, but the RNLI needs to consider the quality of any product very carefully too.”
An order was then placed for an insulated building 19m long x 7.5m wide, to be split into boat house and crew room.

Together with architect Steve Blakeman, John Shields produced a final design working from the RNLI specification and meeting current Building Regulations. The building had to be painted in RNLI colours of blue and white with a black roof. A roller shutter door, 4.2m wide x 2.5m high was required to enable the lifeboat, towed by tractor and trailer, to exit as swiftly as possible and allow effective recovery back into the station after the search and rescue.

The specification required a sectional building that could be moved to a new site at a later date. 2.4m x 2.4m panels were constructed and assembled on an existing base in the Coronation Park at Dartmouth. The construction on site was completed in two weeks and met the RNLI target.

Adam Littlejohn, RNLI Divisional Shore Works Manager, was delighted with the end result, commenting: “The RNLI will be able to rely on the structural integrity of this timber building for many years to come.”

The RNLI’s Dart Lifeboat Station became operational in November 2007 and very soon afterwards had its first shout, when a man was saved who was found unconscious in the water.