Steam Cutter 438
Built as Admiralty Cutter No. 438, she was first appropriated to HMS Espiègle, a Cadmus-class 10-gun screw steel sloop, before transferring to the hospital ship HMHS Maine. With the Maine she was used to support British troops in both the Boer War (based in Cape Town) and the Boxer Rebellion in China. In June 1914, shortly before World War I commenced, the Maine was ran aground in fog off Mull on the west coast of Scotland and was wrecked. SC 438 was recovered and sent to Portsmouth Dockyard. She was decommissioned in the 1920s and converted to a motor cruiser.
Around 1974 her derelict hull was acquired by Dr Roger Stevens of Yelverton, Devon. The hull was restored and a new steam plant fitted and recommissioned around 1997. She was acquired by Peter and Tim Hollins in 1999. Original design drawings, specification and steam trial records were found and the cutter was restored by the owners to her original configuration. The engine was replaced (with one identical to the original) at the Maritime Workshop in Gosport. The cutter was again recommissioned in Portsmouth Harbour in 2008.
Named Mischief, she is 23 feet in length with a beam of 6 ft 6 in and a draught of 2 ft 3 in. She has a double-skin teak hull and was originally completed in 1987 at the Thames Ironworks & Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. at Blackwall in London.
Having been built in the year of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee, she is seen here participating in the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant celebrating Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee. Her crew (as opposed to guests) are wearing uniforms from the Victorian period.
Steam Cutter 438
Built as Admiralty Cutter No. 438, she was first appropriated to HMS Espiègle, a Cadmus-class 10-gun screw steel sloop, before transferring to the hospital ship HMHS Maine. With the Maine she was used to support British troops in both the Boer War (based in Cape Town) and the Boxer Rebellion in China. In June 1914, shortly before World War I commenced, the Maine was ran aground in fog off Mull on the west coast of Scotland and was wrecked. SC 438 was recovered and sent to Portsmouth Dockyard. She was decommissioned in the 1920s and converted to a motor cruiser.
Around 1974 her derelict hull was acquired by Dr Roger Stevens of Yelverton, Devon. The hull was restored and a new steam plant fitted and recommissioned around 1997. She was acquired by Peter and Tim Hollins in 1999. Original design drawings, specification and steam trial records were found and the cutter was restored by the owners to her original configuration. The engine was replaced (with one identical to the original) at the Maritime Workshop in Gosport. The cutter was again recommissioned in Portsmouth Harbour in 2008.
Named Mischief, she is 23 feet in length with a beam of 6 ft 6 in and a draught of 2 ft 3 in. She has a double-skin teak hull and was originally completed in 1987 at the Thames Ironworks & Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. at Blackwall in London.
Having been built in the year of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee, she is seen here participating in the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant celebrating Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee. Her crew (as opposed to guests) are wearing uniforms from the Victorian period.