The Mariner class was a class of 8-gun gunvessels (later reclassified as sloops

Sloop-of-war

In the 18th and most of the 19th centuries, a sloop-of-war was a warship with a single gun deck that carried up to eighteen guns. As the rating system covered all vessels with 20 guns and above, this meant that the term sloop-of-war actually encompassed all the unrated combat vessels including the...

) built for the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 between 1883 and 1888.

Design

Designed by Nathaniel Barnaby

Nathaniel Barnaby

Sir Nathaniel Barnaby, KCB was Chief Constructor of the Royal Navy from 1872 to 1885....

, the Royal Navy Director of Naval Construction

Director of Naval Construction

The Director of Naval Construction was a senior British civil servant post in the Admiralty, that part of the British Civil Service that oversaw the Royal Navy. The post existed from 1860 to 1966....

, the hull was of composite construction; that is, iron keel, frames, stem and stern posts with wooden planking. The entire class were re-classified in November 1884 as sloops

Sloop-of-war

In the 18th and most of the 19th centuries, a sloop-of-war was a warship with a single gun deck that carried up to eighteen guns. As the rating system covered all vessels with 20 guns and above, this meant that the term sloop-of-war actually encompassed all the unrated combat vessels including the...

 before they entered service.

Propulsion

Propulsion was provided by a 2-cylinder horizontal compound expansion steam engine of 850 hp driving a single screw.

Sail plan

All the ships of the class were built as barque

Barque

A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing vessel with three or more masts.- History of the term :The word barque appears to have come from the Greek word baris, a term for an Egyptian boat. This entered Latin as barca, which gave rise to the Italian barca, Spanish barco, and the French barge and...

-rigged vessels, except Icarus, which had no main yards provided, making her a barquentine

Barquentine

A barquentine is a sailing vessel with three or more masts; with a square rigged foremast and fore-and-aft rigged main, mizzen and any other masts.-Modern barquentine sailing rig:...

.

Armament

The class was designed and built to carry eight 5in 38cwt breech-loading guns, one light gun and eight machine guns. Melita had 40cwt guns instead of 38cwt, and Icarus had two of her guns removed.

Ships

Name	Ship Builder	Launched	Fate
	Devonport Dockyard	23 June 1884	Boom defence in 1903. Lent to Liverpool Salvage Association as a salvage vessel in 1917. Laid up from 1922 to 1929. Sold to Hughes Bolckow, Blyth on 19 February 1929
	Devonport Dockyard	14 November 1883	Boom defence in 1904. Lent to Liverpool Salvage Association as a salvage vessel in 1917, renamed Reindeer I. Sold to Halifax Shipyard Ltd as a salvage ship on 12 July 1924. Abandoned at sea in March 1932
	Devonport Dockyard	6 August 1884	Tender to Britannia at Dartmouth in 1896; tender to Osborne College, Cowes in February 1903. Salvage vessel in June 1917. Sold to Hughes Bolckow, Blyth on 6 November 1928
	Devonport Dockyard	27 July 1885	Sold on 12 April 1904
	Milford Haven Shipbuilding Co	6 September 1884	Sold to Harris, Bristol on 15 December 1899. Broken up at Milford Haven in 1904
	Malta Dockyard	20 March 1888	Boom defence in May 1905. Salvage vessel in December 1915, renamed Ringdove. Sold to Falmouth Docks Falmouth Docks Falmouth Docks are the docks of the town of Falmouth in Cornwall, England, UK.The docks are served by the Falmouth Docks railway station. Policing is by the Falmouth Docks Police.-Further reading:... Board on 9 July 1920, renamed Ringdove’s Aid. Sold again in 1927 to Liverpool and Glasgow Salvage Association, renamed Restorer, and finally broken up in 1937