SS Ben-my-Chree (1875)

PS (RMS) Ben-my-Chree (II) No. 67288, was an iron paddle-steamer which served with the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company, and was the second vessel in the Company to bear the name.

Dimensions
Ben-my-Chree had an original tonnage of 1030, but this was increased to 1192 after a refit.

Length 310 ft; beam 31 ft; depth 13 ft; speed 14 kn; indicated horse power 2300 shp.

Ben-my-Chree was launched at Barrow-in-Furness on Sunday, May 6th, 1875.

She was fitted with two oscillating two-cylinder engines of 65 inches diameter, with a 90 inch stroke.

Service life
Built by the Barrow Shipbuilding Company, Barrow-in-Furness in 1875, Ben-my-Chree was the largest ship built for the Company to that date.

Originally designed with a service speed of 14 knots, it was subsequently found that Ben-my-Chree operated two knots below this 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 the history of the line.

Disposal
After an uneventful career of 31 years, Ben-my-Chree was sold for scrap and broken up by T. W. Ward and Company at Morecambe, in 1906.