Cerberus displaced 3,390 tons and used two steam engines to drive two shafts. Her maximum speed was 9.75 knots, although about six knots was more typical. The peacetime complement was twelve officers and eighty-four sailors, rising by another forty personnel in wartime. A longer and more powerful ship might have travelled farther, but it would also have been more likely to leave the harbour for other duties. Her short-range hull kept the design tied to the defensive task for which Victoria had obtained it.
Notable Point · 5:00-6:27
Why a harbour defender did not need ocean speed
Cerberus's modest engines and short-range hull suited a ship expected to protect one harbour rather than cruise at sea.