St Bees RNLI was called out just before midnight on Wednesday to help a 30ft boat with engine failure.
The craft had broken down a mile south of Whitehaven.
A St Bees RNLI spokesman said: “As it was late at night and a falling tide it was decided the safest thing to do would be to tow the vessel to Whitehaven Harbour.
“The lifeboat crew quickly secured a tow line to the boat and safely towed the vessel to the nearby harbour where they were met by members of Whitehaven Coastguard Rescue Team.”
The lifeboat returned to the station just after 2am.
