The vessel depict from which the “bathysphere” of Charles William Beebe was lowered was the former Royal Navy gunboat HMS READY commissioned in 1873. A photo taken of her in 1939 shows her alongside as READY, clearly the heavy derrick used for lowering and raising the “bathysphere” can be seen.
When this derrick was fitted unknown to my. http://www.battleships-cruisers.co.uk/r_n_gunboats.htm
She was built as a wooden gunboat by Chatham Drydock at Chatham for the Royal Navy.
February 1872 laid down.
24 September 1872 launched under the name HMS READY one of the Frolic class.
Displacement 610 tons, 462 ton (bm), dim. 155 x 25 x 11ft. (draught).
Powered by two 2-cyl. compound expansion steam engines manufactured by John Penn & Sons, 891 ihp., speed 11.1 knots. Bunker capacity 80 ton coal.
Range 880 miles by a speed of 10 knots.
Armament 1 – 7 inch MLR. 1 – 64 pdr. MLR, both placed in the midships, 2 – 20pdr. BL fore and aft.
Crew 80.
1873 Commissioned.
1873 Commissioned for the South East coast station of America.
1878 Commissioned at Sheerness for the East Indies.
January 1884 commissioned at Bermuda for North American and West Indies station.
1892 At Bermuda for conversion to dockyard tank vessel.
1894 At the Jamaica Dockyard, renamed DRUDGE in October 1916.
25 January 1920 sold at Bermuda. (most probably renamed then again READY and used for merchant trade.)
15 August 1934 used by Beebe to lower his “bathysphere”, he chartered her from Capt, Harry Sylvester, of he was the owner from 1920 I could not find.)
How long in use in Bermuda, I did not know.
Her bones still rot in St George Harbour, Bermuda, according a web-site.
SG357
Source: Chatham built warships since 1860 by Philip Mac Dougall. The Sail and Steam Navy List by Lyon and Winfield.