Welcome to my website, dedicated to the U.S. Coast Guard, its predecessor U.S. Life-Saving Service, and their use of specially-designed small craft for rescue purposes. Since 1999, I have dedicated almost all of my spare time to the study of the technical design history of the lifeboats, surfboats, and utility craft used in the United States, from the early 1800s to current day. Over this time, I had the pleasure of working closely with a wonderful colleague and friend, the now-deceased William Wilkinson, director emeritus of the Mariners Museum in Newport News, Virginia. Mr. Wilkinson was a globally recognized historical expert on these craft, and very graciously shared with me his knowledge and accumulated documents, images, and materials, culminating in our co-authored encyclopedic book, American Coastal Rescue Craft, published in 2009 by the University Press of Florida. The purpose of this website is to carry on in Mr. Wilkinson’s footsteps; that is, the sharing with the public of this wonderful and interesting history of a very special variety of boats designed and built for humanitarian rescue purposes, usually in weather and sea conditions that would cause the destruction of ordinary small craft.

Although quite a lot of information and material has been successfully retrieved and preserved by now from various sources, the story of these rescue craft is by no means complete and ended, particularly with the recent introduction of newer generation rescue boats by the Coast Guard. In addition, the contribution of historically relevant information, photographs, and drawings by the interested public will always be welcomed by researchers like me, so I encourage anyone who has such information, or who have questions, to contact me directly.

I hope that you find the information in this website to be interesting and helpful. Thanks very much for visiting!