Sir Lancelot (clipper)

Sir Lancelot was a clipper ship which sailed in the China trade and the India-Mauritius trade.

She was built in 1865 by Robert Steele & Company, Greenock, and was of composite construction: wooden planking on iron frames. She was planked with elm below the bilge and teak above that. She carried 100 tons of permanent iron ballast.^{: 164, 166}

There is some discussion as to whether Sir Lancelot was an exact sister ship of Ariel. This is felt unlikely, as the two ships were built for different owners, and Sir Lancelot did not display the tenderness aft that Ariel displayed. But it is clear that the two ships were very similar.^{: 133–134, 152, 163–166}

Sir Lancelot was typical of all of Steele's ships, celebrated for their beauty of model, perfection of build, and superb finish. They were often said to have a "yacht-like" feel, with lines that please the eye and plenty of teak and mahogany used for woodwork both on deck and below.^: 92–93 In the poem By the Old Pagoda Anchorage, she is referred to as "Sir Lancelot of a hundred famous fights with wind and wave".