This boat, now in the collection of the National Maritime Museum, Cornwall, was owned at one time by Arthur Whitten Brown, famous, with John Alcock, for the first non-stop transatlantic flight in 1919.
Around the 1930s Meakes of Marlow started also producing slipper launches, recognisable by the bow section being almost perpendicular to the water, as seen in the photos of Mayflower below.
Alf Parrott slipper launches were initially built in marine ply, then later in fibreglass, 20 feet (6.1 m) in length, with Stuart Turner single-cylinder petrol engines.
Peter Freebody and Co. in Hurley, Berkshire still make slipper launches from scratch using traditional methods and materials although often with electric propulsion.
Slipper launches have been owned by many famous names, including one by the British 1950s singing trio, the Beverley Sisters, Keith Moon, and another by Louis Renault, of car company fame.