"Among the new and special branches of mechanical engineering, the construction of steam launches is one that has within the last few years so largely increased as to make it a trade for itself. The small steel yacht which Mr. George Allibon, of Greenwich, built in 1861, for Lord Alfred Paget, was once of the earliest vessels of this class. She was 42 ft. long and 9 ft. beam, and was fitted with a high pressure-condensing engine, with cylinders 5 in. diameter and 6 in. stroke, driving two four-bladed propellers, 2 ft. 6 in. in diameter and 3 ft. 6 in. long. This boat was sold by its owner to the Government, in 1866, and is now in use as one of H.M. steam launches. Since that time, not only has a large demand arisen for these boats from amateurs who seek to gratify a quasi-mechanical inclination, but also at home and abroad for business purposes, where a thousand uses are found for them. Light, capacious, fast, and extremely handy, they are invaluable for miscellaneous traffic on our rivers; while abroad for transit of mails, light goods or passengers they take a place which no other craft can… Messrs. Yarrow and Hedley, of the Isle of Dogs, devoting themselves exclusively to this class of work, find a large and constant occupation, and from their having made this class of construction a specialty are securing almost a monopoly of orders. The standard class of launch, which they are now making, is 30 ft. in length, 5 ft. 6 in. beam, with a draught of water of 2 ft. 2 in. …'