They were built by the same company, Messrs. Philip & Son Ltd. of Dartmouth and designed by naval architects Graham and Woolnough.

The Woodchurch was powered by two medium speed Crossley diesel engines, which were fitted with air brakes for rapid speed change and could be controlled directly from the bridge via the three pairs of connected Chadburn Synchrostep engine order telegraphs.

The Woodchurch remained in near constant operation up until 1980 when she was withdrawn from service and laid up in Morpeth Dock for reasons of economy.

Up until this period there had been minimal maintenance work carried out on the vessel and at one point she even lost the forward port side rubbing strake.

The six-month absence from the river was the result of a major rebuild and life extension programme.

This renewed a 125-year-old link with the past, with all Mersey ferries now carrying traditional Wallasey "flower" names.

The ferry is the regular boat used on the Manchester Ship Canal cruises, held over most weekends during the summer months.

[4][5] Snowdrop is one of three vessels commissioned to carry a dazzle livery, the others being Induction Chromatique à Double Fréquence pour l'Edmund Gardner Ship / Liverpool.

Paris, 2014 by Carlos Cruz-Diez on the museum ship Edmund Gardner located in the Canning graving dock adjacent to the Pier Head in Liverpool, and Tobias Rehberger's Dazzle Ship London on HMS President in the River Thames.