Mackie & Thompson built Crater in Glasgow in 1896. At the time of her loss she was owned by Ashworth & Taylor. The 132 ton vessel was 30.25m long by 6.12m beam and drew 3.14m. Her engines were built by Muir & Houston Ltd, also in Glasgow, and developed 45hp from a single boiler.

On February the second, 1926, she was returning to Tyneside after a fishing trip when she struck an unidentified submerged object, believed to be wreckage, and sank some 6.5 miles to the east of Souter lighthouse. The wreck, which has yet to be positively identified, lies on hard sand and shale in a spoil ground area at a depth of 54m, the lowest astronomical depth. The wreck is intact except for damage to the quarter deck and forecastle structures which have collapsed.