An item described the shallow draught stern wheel gunboat built by Messrs. Yarrow and Co., Poplar, England for Russian account. One of the most important conditions of the contract was the gunboat could by disassembled and transported by train over large distances and at the destination with much problems could be assembled and riveted. Other conditions were able to carry an armament with a weight of 7 tons and enough bunker capacity to able for 12 hours steaming. The maximum draught was to be 18”. The shipyard came with a solution of a sternwheeler with as main dimensions 100 x 22 feet. The gunboat was disassembled in floating sections of similar dimensions namely 22 x 10 x 4.6 (deep) feet, which were at the same time the maximum dimensions the Continental railways could handle. The design was an improved design of the one used for the British gunboats HMS Mosquito and Herald. Speed with a draught of 17” during a hour trial was 11 miles. Accommodation for the crew was situated on the lower deck except for the officers which were accommodated on the upper deck where also a large pilot house was placed. The armament of quick firing guns was dived over both decks. Cargo capacity depended on the allowed draught namely 30 tons with 2 feet, 54 tons with 2.6 feet and even 80 tons with 3 feet.
