| Name: | TARRET |
| Type: | Experimental Motor Boat |
| Launched: | 08/11/1938 |
| Completed: | 01/1939 |
| Builder: | Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson Ltd |
| Yard: | Neptune Yard, Low Walker |
| Yard Number: | 1564 |
| Dimensions: | 53disp, 110.0 x 14.5 x ?ft |
| Engines: | 2 x Oil engines, VRB type, 16cyl (7 x 7.75in), 2000bhp |
| Engines by: | Davey, Paxman & Co (Colchester) Ltd |
| Propulsion: | 2 x Screws, 30.0knots |
| Armament: | 1 x 3pdr, 2 x Lewis guns; 12 x depth charges |
| History: | |
| 01/1939 | Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson Ltd, Newcastle |
| 03/11/1939 | British Royal Navy |
| 19xx | Private owner |
| 19xx | Sank |
| Comments: | Built to shipbuilders' own account to test out new hull form |
| To save costs, second hand engines were used & fittings were as cheap as possible | |
| Apparently registered as a private yacht to keep hull details secret | |
| Also avoided the costs associated with registering as a British ship | |
| 1939: Requisitioned by the Admiralty and used as a patrol boat | |
| By 1950: Converted to a houseboat at Walton-on-Naze | |
| Later: Sank in the Black Deep (outer Thames Estuary) while under tow to the south coast |
Above photo is courtesy of François Grosjean
Above photo is courtesy of Kevin Blair
Above photo is courtesy of Kevin Blair
Above photo of TARRET as a houseboat in 1951 is copyright of Putmans Photographers
Journal of Commerce, Thursday, 23/03/1939
Sunderland Daily Echo, Saturday, 31/12/1938