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After the Water Police became part of the Colonial Police Force, all the launches were managed by the former. For the maintenance of launches, the Water Police established their own water basin in Water Police Station in Tsim Sha Tsui in 1884, which was designed to accommodate 8 boats, 4 steam launches, and 1 fire engine. The dock was 200 feet by 100 feet, with a narrow entrance of only 25 feet spanned by a land bridge. In 1911, the government agreed with the Kowloon Wharf and Godown Company to exchange the land for the Water Police Basin for the development of the Kowloon-Canton Railway. The Water Police Basin had to move northwards to the newly reclaimed land in Yau Ma Tei. The new site was situated on Canton Road between Pak Hoi Street and Sai Kung Street (now Sai Kung Street Playground).^[8]

The government’s intention of setting up a ship-repair yard was first made known in the Director of Public Works’ report for 1912 and 1913, and 20 piles were sunk for the slipway as an additional item on the reclamation contract. However, the repairing of launches in-house was queried by David Landale, a member of the Legislative Council, in November 1913. He was worried that the costs of civil servants undertaking the repairs would be drastically increased. He also pointed out that it was uneconomical when compared with outsourcing the repair works to the private sector. The Director of Public Works replied that no provision was made for the engineering workshops, and the work was confined to cleaning and painting of launches. In 1914, the Yau Ma Tei Police Slipway was completed, with a capacity to accommodate launches up to 80 tonnes. The only outstanding works were the carriage and hauling gear. The whole building was completed in 1915 and came into operation on 9 April 1919 after electric power was installed for hauling vessels to the slipway. Starting from 1919, many colonial launches were slipped from the Yau Ma Tei Police Slipway. An average aggregation of 100 colonial launches was slipped at regular intervals each year till 1924.^[9]

In 1909, the Governor, Sir Frederick Lugard, decided to resume the arrangement of concurrently appointing Lt. Charles William Beckwith, the Assistant Harbour Master, as the Assistant Superintendent of Police for managing the Water Police. This arrangement was to avoid overlapping of duties between the Police and the Harbour Master’s Department, and to provide more thorough training and instruction to the Water Police. Under this arrangement, the Harbour Master’s Department became indirectly responsible for the maintenance of the Water Police launches and the management of the Yau Ma Tei Police Slipway. In 1925, the Colonial Police Force decided to hand over the management of the Yau Ma Tei Police Shipyard, together with its carpenters, painters and sailmakers, to the Harbour Master’s Department. The Harbour Master’s Department also continued to be responsible for the maintenance of the Water Police launches. The Harbour Master’s Department renamed the Yau Ma Tei Police Slipway the Government Slipway.^[10]

With the acquisition of the Yau Ma Tei Police Slipway, the role of the Harbour Master’s Department in purchasing, managing and maintaining launches of different government departments was strengthened. Since 1926, the Government Slipway was responsible for setting further details of works in tenders for launches of various departments. For example, the Harbour Master was responsible for calling tenders for the repair of Police Launches No. 1-5, 9 and 14 in 1932; of Police Launches No. 1, 4, 5 and 7 in 1933; and of several other Police Launches from 1938 to 1941.^[11]

From the 1920s to 1941, due to the continually increasing demand for the services of the Harbour Master’s Department, the total number of launches managed by the Harbour Master’s Department increased from nine in 1923 to 29 in 1938.

In 1923, a typhoon swept over Hong Kong causing severe damage. Commander C. W. Beckwith, the Harbour Master, proposed that the colonial government should build a powerful rescue tug to render assistance to all craft in the harbour. The proposal was accepted by the colonial government, which then asked the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce for opinions and recommendations on the design of the rescue tug. The Chamber formed a sub-committee to study the design and recommended that the rescue tug should be equipped with a single screw and a Scotch forced-draught boiler. The government assigned Lt. Commander Conway Hake R.N.R, the Acting Harbour Master, and L.H. King, the Government Electrical Engineer, to have a further meeting with the sub-committee after receiving its recommendations. In the meeting, the original recommendations were slightly modified. The modified recommendations were then adopted and, in 1924, the colonial government invited tenders for the building of the rescue tug. The tender from the Taikoo Dockyard and Engineering Company Limited was accepted.^[12]

The construction of the rescue tug was completed in 1926 and the vessel was named Kau Sing. Kau Sing was the first and the only rescue tug managed by the Harbour Master’s Department before the Second World War. To facilitate rescue operations, the Harbour Master’s Department equipped Kau Sing with wireless telegraph apparatus. The crew of Kau Sing included a master, a chief coxswain, a quartermaster, an engineer, a chief engineer, two greasers, a carpenter, four stokers, a fireman, a boatswain, a cook, and 12 sailors. However, three years later, the Harbour Master’s Department confirmed that Kau Sing was not suitable for rescue operations. With only a single screw, Kau Sing could not function properly in severe weather. Furthermore, it took a long time to generate steam in the engine boiler. Commander George Francis Hole, the Harbour Master, proposed that the government sell Kau Sing and build a new tug. After careful consideration, the colonial government refused to sell Kau Sing, and the Harbour Department and Director of Air Services continued to manage it. In 1937, after Kau Sing was damaged by a typhoon, the colonial government finally decided to sell the vessel. The wireless telegraph apparatus on Kau Sing was removed and transferred to the Post Office.^[13]

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