Lifeboat crews use an electric buggy, complete with sirens and blue flashing lights, to access this boathouse along the pier from the shore.

From then until 1968, the Thames Estuary was covered by three similar slipway launched 46ft 9in Watsons stationed on seaside piers at Clacton-on-Sea, Margate and Southend-on-Sea.

[4] By the early 1970s, two inflatable inshore lifeboats were in use at Southend to provide assistance to the increasing number of pleasure craft.

In 1974, Sheerness was allocated a fast Waveney-class boat and two years later Southend's All-weather Watson-class lifeboat was withdrawn and replaced by the Inshore Atlantic 21-class Percy Garon (B-527).

[3] A new 'Dry End' shore boathouse was completed on 16 July 2013, to accommodate the hovercraft, Vera Ravine (H-004), and second Inshore D-class lifeboat.