The Overchurch was popular with its Captains and Mates as its navigation bridge spanned the whole ship, rather than having a wheelhouse and side cabs such as Mountwood and Woodchurch used.

Unlike Mountwood and Woodchurch, there was no central set of telegraphs next to the helm, so the crew were required to move to either of the bridge wings to control the engines.

Her original livery was Birkenhead's orange and black, with a flame red band above the rubbing strake.

The Overchurch contained identical engines to Mountwood and Woodchuch, however, with a gross tonnage of 468,[2] the ship was slightly heavier than its two near sisters.

Her wheelhouse generally offered a more pleasant working environment for her crews as they did not need to venture outside when berthing the vessel in order to reach the bridge wing, as they did on the slightly older Mountwood and Woodchurch.

The two medium-speed Crossley diesel engines developed over 1,400 bhp combined and could easily propel the vessel over 12 knots against the flow of the tide.

Like her near sisters, these were fitted with custom command dials which allowed for greater speed control ahead and astern and quick direction change by a 'brake' position which stopped the engines rapidly.

Her first official duty was in 1962, when she conveyed Princess Alexandra to open the new Cammell Laird dry dock.

This meant that Overchurch underwent lengthy periods of disuse, being laid up in the East Float of Birkenhead Docks.

In 1996 plans were afoot to refurbish Overchurch to allow her provision for operating dance and party cruises.

Her original funnel and bridge, including binnacle and brass helm, were retained, albeit with some minor additions.

The lower main and forward saloons were gutted and extensively re-built, spanning to whole width of the ship.

Below decks there is another large dance floor in the former smoke room and there is crew accommodation at the stern of the vessel.

On 23 October 2009, the Royal Daffodil was carrying a full load of passengers to witness the aviation display to celebrate the visit of HMS Illustrious to the Mersey.

The Royal Daffodil was withdrawn from service in December 2012 and traveled to the ferries berth at Duke Street.

On a snowy morning in January 2013, she made the short journey to Cammell Laird's shipyard where she underwent dry docking and a full survey, including re application of anti-foul painting to her hull.

Cosmetically, the vessel became weather worn and certain areas of the paintwork were showing considerable markings from rust - although her interiors remained in good condition.

[3] The ferry was partly refitted over Spring and Summer of 2019 before moving to a slipway in Manchester for her electrical rewiring and interior fixtures.