The torpedo boat destroyer Sturgeon (length 190 feet, beam 19 feet, draught 7 feet 7 inches; displacement 280 tons) had continued to give her builders and the Admiralty trouble during her official trials on the Clyde. During a three-hour trial on the 18th of April the bearing brasses overheated, and the piston rod that had given trouble in two earlier trials was bent. The Admiralty decided that no further trials were to be conducted until the defective piston rod had been removed and replaced. Speeds of over 29 knots had been achieved on four separate occasions despite the Sturgeon's unsatisfactory performance overall; the contractors had guaranteed a speed of only 27 knots.