Merlin-class packet boat

The Merlin-class packet boat was a trio of 2-gun paddle packet boats built for the Royal Navy during the 1830s. Two of the three ships were immediately commissioned for packet service at Liverpool and the third was not commissioned until 1848 for packet service in the Mediterranean. Merlin and Medina were later converted into service as survey ships and Medusa was converted into a tugboat. Merlin and Medina also saw service off the West African coast during the 1850s.

Class overview
Name: Merlin
Builders: Pembroke Dockyard
Operators:  Royal Navy
In service: 1839–72
Completed: 3
Scrapped: 3
General characteristics (as built)
Type: Packet boat
Tons burthen: 889 14/94 bm
Length:
  • 175 ft (53.3 m) (Gun deck)
  • 153 ft 6 in (46.8 m) (Keel)
Beam: 33 ft 2 in (10.1 m)
Depth: 16 ft 5 in (5.0 m)
Installed power: 312 nhp
Propulsion: 2 × Steam engines
Armament: 2 × 6-pdr carronades

Description

The ships had a length at the gun deck of 175 feet (53.3 m) and 153 feet 6 inches (46.8 m) at the keel. They had a beam of 33 feet 2 inches (10.1 m), and a depth of hold of 16 feet 5 inches (5.0 m). The ships' tonnage was 889 ​14⁄94 tons burthen.[1] The Medusa class was fitted with a pair of steam engines, rated at 312 nominal horsepower, that drove their paddlewheels. The ships were armed with a pair of 6-pounder carronades.[2]

Notes
  1. Winfield, p. 1432
  2. Winfield & Lyon, p. 167

References
  • Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
  • Lyon, David & Winfield, Rif (2004). The Sail & Steam Navy List: All the Ships of the Royal Navy 1815–1889. London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 1-86176-032-9.
  • Phillips, Lawrie; Lieutenant Commander (2014). Pembroke Dockyard and the Old Navy: A Bicentennial History. Stroud, Gloucestershire, UK: The History Press. ISBN 978-0-7509-5214-9.
  • Winfield, Rif (2008). British Warships in the Age of Sail, 1793-1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates (epub). Barnsley, UK: Seaforth. ISBN 978-1-84415-700-6.
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