A tinted lithograph of the experimental frigates, 'Castor,' 'Inconstant,' and 'Pique,' on a trial cruise accompanied by the older ship of the line, 'Hercules.' In 1836, the group formed part of an Experimental Squadron that was sent out in the 1830s and 1840s to test new techniques of ship design, armament, building and propulsion. The 1836 'The United Service Magazine' noted how seamen were slow to sign up as crewmen for the experimental frigates 'Inconstant' and 'Pique' and that they were still docked in the dockyard basin awaiting for adequate volunteers.
The largest ship in the middleground is identified as the 'Inconstant' by the text underneath the image on the print. The 'Hercules' is on the right; the two unlabeled ships in the far distance are the 'Pique' and 'Castor.'
