In 1974, Whitstable received the larger twin engine B-class (Atlantic 21) B-516.

The current lifeboat is the B-class (Atlantic 85) named Lewisco (B-877), which has been on the station since 2014.

These include, between 1977 and 2010, one RNLI bronze medal and four "Thanks of the Institution inscribed on Vellum" for bravery during rescues.

The station also received the RNLI’s "Walter and Elizabeth Groombridge Annual Award" for the most meritorious rescue by an inshore lifeboat crew in 2009.

[4] In the 2003 New Year Honours David Andrew Lamberton, the station's honorary secretary, was appointed a member of the Order of the British Empire for his services to the RNLI.