Mona's Queen.
History
Name	Mona's Queen
Owner	1853–1880: IOMSPCo
Operator	1853–1880: IOMSPCo
Port of registry	Douglas, Isle of Man
Builder	J. and G. Thomson of Clydebank[1]
Cost	No official record, thought to be in the region of £14,000.
Yard number	6[1]
Laid down	1852
Launched	27 November 1852
Completed	1853
In service	February 1853
Out of service	1880
Identification	Official Number 21930 Code Letters N J H W
Fate	Scrapped 1880
General characteristics
Tonnage	600 GRT
Length	Initially 170 ft 0 in (51.8 m) lengthened to 186 ft 0 in (56.7 m) following refit.
Beam	27 ft 0 in (8.2 m)
Depth	13 ft (4.0 m)
Propulsion	Side Lever Engine
Speed	13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph)

SS (RMS) Mona's Queen (I) No. 21930 – the first vessel in the Company's history to bear the name – was an iron paddle-steamer which was owned and operated by the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company.

Construction and dimensions

Mona's Queen was built and engined by J. & G. Thomson of Govan, Glasgow and launched in 1852. She had a registered tonnage of 600 tons; length 186'; beam 27' and depth 13'. Her speed is recorded as 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph), and her horsepower is not recorded.^[1]

Mona's Queen carried a figurehead of Queen Victoria, and was the first vessel to break away from the Company's long association with Robert Napier & Co. The vessel's cost is not recorded, but a reference in the Company's old minute book suggests it was under £14,000. In 1855 she was lengthened (details not recorded) at a cost of £2,111.

Service life

An early photograph of Mona's Queen, alongside the Red Pier, Douglas.

Mona's Queen appears to have had a pretty uneventful career, with the exception of a collision with the steamer Sligo, which occurred in the River Mersey in January 1862. The official inquiry went against the Steam Packet Company who had to pay approximately £300 in damages and costs. The Captain was accordingly reduced from Second Class Master to Third, and his pay was cut from £275 to £250.

An 1856 image of King Orry, Mona's Queen & Tynwald.

Disposal

After ten years service the directors decided to sell the ship and offered it to Cunard, Wilson and Co. for £20,000.

The offer was declined, and negotiations started with a Whitehaven company for a sale at £14,000.

Midway through 1864 the directors admitted they could not sell the vessel. Mona's Queen therefore continued in the Company's service until she was broken up in 1880.

References

Bibliography