An item reported that the Saturday before t the shipyard ‘t Kromhout of the firm D. Goedkoop jr. two motor barges were delivered to the British government to be used as coast/river vessels in Nigeria. The dimensions of the vessels were 28,50 x 5,35 x 1,85 (hold) metres and they were fitted out with two-double cylinder Kromhout petrol engines delivering each 40 ehp. Another Dutch newspaper De West dated 22 February 1910 described the voyage of the Manatee while referring to an item published in the British magazine Motorboat dated 30 December 1909. The latter magazine described the voyage over sea of the motor mail boat Manatee from England towards Nigeria. She was complete seaworthy, had a length of 93’ and a draught of 5½’and was fitted out with two Kromhout engines supplying 76 hp allowing a speed of more as 10 knots. She was fitted out with a dynamo for electric light, had a spacey sundeck and was very practical equipped for transporting mail and passengers. She was bought by the British cabinet for government service in Nigeria. A third Dutch newspaper Het nieuws van den dag voor Nedrlandsch-Indië dated 18 July 1910 also described her voyage but referred now to the Dutch magazine Het Nederlandsch Zeewezen which also included a picture of the ship. Her dimensions were 93’x 5’x 0’6”. The two Kromhout petrol engines supplied each 76 ehp allowing a speed of 10,5 miles despite her engineer never had seen such an engine. Her crew numbered nine men. The voyage was from Cowes towards Forcados where she arrived in an excellent condition despite the stormy weather underway.
