28 September 2012 Last updated at 08:44 BST
From stranded sailing boats to drifting dinghys - it's estimated they've saved more than 130,000 lives.
But they now have a new 1.5 million pound tool to tackle even the toughest rescues.
And Joe couldn't wait to try it out!
For almost 200 years a group of volunteers called the RNLI have been taking the plunge into the seas around the UK.