The steam yacht Norseman was designed by St. Clare Byrne, the doyen of the larger auxiliary steam yachts creators who had made his reputation with Lord Brassey's famous Sunbeam. Norseman, 521 tons, was built of steel by Henderson's of Glasgow in 1898 to the order of Mr. S.R.Platt. An extremely attractive vessel with an unusual barquentine rig, she was 160 feet in length, with a 27 foot beam and a draught of 15½ feet. In 1906, Platt sold her to the 5th Earl of Lonsdale (1857-1944), popularly known as the "Yellow Earl" but he only kept her for three years before she was offered for sale again.