# Troon Lifeboat Station

Troon Lifeboat Station is the base for Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) lifeboats at Troon in South Ayrshire, Scotland. It opened in 1871 and operates both all-weather and inshore lifeboats.

## History

Lifeboat stations had been established at Irvine and Ayr by 1859. The people of Troon asked the RNLI to provide one for their town, which they agreed to in 1871. £250 was paid to build a boathouse at the harbour on land donated by the Duke of Portland.
A larger boat was stationed at Troon from 1905 so the boathouse was sold to the county council and the lifeboat since that time has been kept afloat in the harbour. The present crew accommodation and workshop was built in 1987 and extended in 1996. An Inshore lifeboat (ILB) was stationed at Troon for the first time in January 2004. A boathouse was built for it and a davit erected to lower it into the water.

## Service awards

Three RNLI Medals have been awarded to members of Troon lifeboat crews. The first were the result of 7 people being rescued from the Belfast steamer Moyallen on 6 December 1940. It was a difficult rescue amid a gale and rain. Coxswain William McAuslane was given a silver medal and Albert J Ferguson received a bronze medal. The other medal was presented to coxswain/mechanic Ian Johnson who took the lifeboat to rescue 5 people from a dredger that was in danger of breaking its moorings outside the harbour in a Force 10 storm on 12 September 1980.
The 'Thanks of the Institution inscribed on Vellum' was presented to Thomas Devenny who led a mission to rescue the crew of a small fishing boat during a storm on 18 October 1984. The same award was given to David Seaward and Paul Aspin who used the all-weather lifeboat's (ALB's) dinghy to rescue 10 people from the TS Mountbatten which ran aground at Ayr on 14 July 1988. Ian Johnson, the ALB's coxswain on the day, received a 'Framed Letter of Thanks' from the chairman. Another 'Thanks of the Institution inscribed on Vellum' was given to Colin Millar and Gary McGarvie after leading the lifeboat in a difficult rescue of a trawler on 14 January 2015.
On 8 December 1979 Roy Trewern used the lifeboat's inflatable dinghy to help two people cut off by a rising tide, for which he received a 'Framed Letter of Thanks' from the chairman. Ian Johnson and the whole crew received a 'Framed Letter of Thanks' for saving a broken down yacht and 4 people near Holy Isle on 23 May 1992.

## Troon lifeboats

| At Troon | ON | Op. No. | Name | Class | Built | Comments |
| 1871–1886 | — | — | Mary Sinclair | Self-righter | 1871 | |
| 1886–1899 | 88 | — | Alexander Munnock | Self-Righter | 1886 | |
| 1899–1904 | 309 | — | Charles Skirrow | Standard Self-Righter | 1891 | Originally built for Ardrossan. |
| 1904–1929 | 525 | — | Busbie | Watson | 1904 | |
| 1929–1955 | 723 | — | Sir David Richmond of Glasgow | Watson | 1929 | The first motor lifeboat at Troon. Sold and became the fishing boat AB52 Aber Girl at Aberystwyth. |
| 1955–1967 | 909 | — | James and Barbara Aitken | Watson | 1954 | Saw continued service at Girvan until 1976. It was then sold and went overseas as a pleasure boat. |
| 1968–1985 | 1006 | 44-007 | Connel Elizabeth Cargill | Waveney | 1967 | Later stationed in Ireland. Sold in 1999 for continued lifeboat service in Australia, now converted to a houseboat. |
| 1985–1987 | 1029 | 44-011 | Augustine Courtauld | Waveney | 1974 | First stationed at Poole and continued in service until 1997. Sold in 1999 for continued lifeboat service in Australia, now used as a workboat. |
| 1987–2004 | 1134 | 52-38 | City of Glasgow III | Arun | 1987 | Sold in 2006 for continued lifeboat service in Iceland. |
| 2004– | 1275 | 14-38 | Jim Moffat | Trent | 2003 | |
| TBC | 1362 | 13-55 | Roy Barker VI | shannon | 2025 | |

### Inshore lifeboats

| At Troon | Op. No. | Name | Class | Model | Comments |
| 2004–2005 | D-468 | Colin Martin | D | EA16 | First stationed at Happisburgh in 1994. |
| 2006–2007 | D-506 | Patrick Rex Moren | D | EA16 | First stationed at Mablethorpe in 1996. |
| 2007–2018 | D-684 | Telford Shopping Centre | D | IB1 | |
| 2019– | D-821 | Sheena | D | IB1 | |