The Doterel class was designed by Nathaniel Barnaby as a development of William Henry White's 1874 Osprey-class sloop.

[1] All the ships of the class were provided with a barque rig,[1] that is, square-rigged foremast and mainmast, and fore-and-aft sails only on the mizzen mast.

[1] Sloops of her type were designed for patrolling Britain's extensive maritime empire, and were normally sent to foreign stations for extended periods.

As she was bumping heavily on the reef steam was got up, when suddenly the sternpost was smashed, and the screw propeller dropped into the sea.

There upon the captain ordered part of the men to construct a raft, the remainder being engaged on pumping, as sea had by this time forced its way through the bottom, and flooded the engine-room and cabins.The whole of 13 September was spent trying to save the ship, but the sea was too rough for boats to travel between the ship and the land.

[2] Northampton was recalled by telegram from Halifax and brought with her Rear Admiral Sir Francis Leopold McClintock, the commander-in-chief of the North America and West Indies Station.

[2] The board of enquiry found that insufficient efforts had been made to establish the range of the light, and that the courses steered had been hazardous.