York Rescue Boat appealing for help with incident support vehicle
They currently use a van to support patrols and help with callouts.
York Rescue Boat says it needs to raise £75,000 to buy a new incident support vehicle.
The existing vehicle, which was purchased second-hand 14 years ago, has increasing bills to maintain.
The group's campaign says: "Our new incident support vehicle will support the team both on our regular patrols as well as at incidents across York and North Yorkshire. The first stage of this project will be the procurement of a new long-wheelbase van.
"We are still considering the options for our van and taking into account a number of factors such as maintenance, fuel economy and emissions to ensure we get the best value for money.
"Once purchased the vehicle will undergo professional specialist conversion and feature the following:
"Digital mapping linking to our lifeboat we will be able to coordinate search and rescue taskings with ease as well as the ability to track our boats, vehicles and team members. Not only will this make our searching more efficient it will help to increase the safety of our team in challenging conditions.
"State of the art digital radio will allow our team to coordinate not only with each other but also with other search and rescue teams
"Built-in Generator for running our IT and communications equipment
"Charging point and storage space for our lifesaving equipment
"Crew welfare facilities included a heated crew area, hand washing facilities and a hot water boiler".
Operational Manager at York Rescue Boat, David Wilson, told Greatest Hits Radio York: "We're looking at £75,000 in total to get a new fully fitted out vehicle. Aviva have said they'll help us raise £50,000, and then we're going to raise another £25,000 afterwards.
"We don't just rescue people who find themselves in the water, but we also provide active patrols along the river to prevent people going in.
"The current van has lasted us well, but the increased running costs have been a problem. We've also expanded in the way we operate with other emergency services".
More information on York Rescue Boat's campaign can be found here.