Although most were sold by 1890, one of them survived into the 1920s as a salvage vessel in private ownership.

They were the first class of Royal Navy gunboat built of composite construction, that is, with iron keel, stem and stern posts, and iron framing, but planked with wood.

Designed by Sir Edward Reed, Chief Constructor of the Royal Navy, the Ariel-class gunboats were the first Royal Navy gunboats of composite construction.

[2] They were some of the first vessels to be fitted with compound-expansion engines, allowing the Royal Navy to experiment with new engine designs at little risk in small, cheap vessels.

All the ships of the class carried a three-masted barquentine rig.