SS Ben-my-Chree (1875)

Ben-my-Chree after refit, berthed alongside the Imperial Hotel, Douglas
History
Isle of Man
Owner	Isle of Man Steam Packet Company
Port of registry	Douglas
Builder	Barrow Shipbuilding Company
Cost	£38,000
Launched	6 May 1875
In service	1875–1906
Identification	No. 67288[1]
Fate	Scrapped in 1906
General characteristics
Type	Packet steamer
Tonnage	1,020–1,192 GRT
Length	310 ft (94 m)
Beam	31 ft (9.4 m)
Depth	13 ft (4.0 m)
Installed power	2,300 shp (1,700 kW)
Propulsion	Paddle wheels
Speed	14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph)

SS Ben-my-Chree was an iron paddle-steamer of the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company and was the second vessel of the company to bear the name.

Ben-my-Chree was built by the Barrow Shipbuilding Company and launched at Barrow-in-Furness on 6 May 1875.

She had an original tonnage of 1,030 GRT, but this was increased to 1,192 GRT after a refit. She had a length of 310 feet 9 inches (94.72 m), beam-length of 31 feet 9 inches (9.68 m), and a depth of 13 feet 9 inches (4.19 m).

With a top speed of 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph) at 2,300 shaft horsepower (1,700 kW), and fitted with two oscillating two-cylinder engines with a 65-inch (170 cm) diameter and 90-inch (230 cm) stroke. It was subsequently found that she operated two knots below her recorded top speed, despite modifications to her boilers. Reboilered in 1884, she was altered to carry four funnels, in pairs fore and aft of the paddle-boxes. This made her the only four-funnelled vessel in line's history.

After an uneventful 31-year career, Ben-my-Chree was sold for scrap and broken up at Morecambe, in 1906.

Media related to Ben-my-Chree (ship, 1875) at Wikimedia Commons