(The other is the 1922 Steamship Virginia V.) They were once part of a large fleet of small passenger and freight carrying ships that linked the islands and ports of Puget Sound in Washington state in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

[3][4] Horluck Transportation Co., under Captain Willis Nearhoff, purchased Carlisle II in 1936[5] and converted her back to passenger vessel use for the short run between Bremerton and Port Orchard across Sinclair Inlet.

[7] In 2008, Kitsap Transit purchased Carlisle II from Smith and continues to use her as needed on the Bremerton-Port Orchard run.

[9] Carlisle II remains in operation, acting as a backup vessel for service between Bremerton and Port Orchard, Washington.

[10] Carlisle II has been designated a "Floating Museum" by the Washington Commission for the Humanities, and her interior is decorated with numerous photos and information about her and other Mosquito Fleet vessels.