She is built of steel, and while lacking the romance of a wooden ship, she has a greater cargo carrying capacity, and is lighter and cheaper to operate.

They restored her to sail and rerigged her and she was run as a charter barge from the alongside the Prospect of Whitby pub in Wapping.

[6] For the next twenty-two years, from 1984 to 2007 she was run by the Cirdan Trust, who used her to give sailing experiences to underprivileged children.

This trust was run by Bill Broad, an Anglican churchman, his wife Daphne and John Corder Belfrage.

[6] The barge skipper Rebecca Polden and her partner bought her next, and did some serious restoration work and sold her on in summer 2011.

[6] She is currently owned by Chris Palmer and based in Pin Mill The United Kingdom Official Number was 145408 A replica of the Blue Mermaid is being constructed, and she was launched 28 May 2016 for the Sea-Change Sailing Trust.