Dartmouth Castle (3) was built in 1948 to replace the paddle steamer Dartmouth Castle (2) of the River Dart Steam Boat Company which was laid up during the war, and was sold in 1947. She was followed by the similar Berry Castle (3) the following year, both from Philip of Dartmouth.

In 1975, the Millbrook SB & Trading Co bought the large Dartmouth Castle (3) from the ailing River Dart Steam Boat Company. They sold the following year to Dart Pleasure Craft, who had effectively succeeded the River Dart Steam Boat Company on River Dart services. In 1977, the Millbrook SB & Trading Co also bought the Cardiff Castle from the River Dart Steam Boat Company. In 1980, the directors of the Millbrook SB & Trading Co (Derek Crawford, Les Worth and Sidney Mashford) sold their shares to Dart Pleasure Craft who then ran both Dart and Plymouth services.

The Dartmouth Castle has a length of 26.52 metres and a gross tonnage of 81. She was purpose built with both sea and river operations in mind and has a maximum load line draft of just over 95cm, thus making her ideal for Avocet Bird Watching Cruises on the River Exe.

In 2007, Devon Princess Cruises (Mike Barrow) ran the Dartmouth Castle on cruises from Exmouth and Torbay. She is listed as a Historic Ship (Certificate number: 299) in the National Register of Historic Vessels. The Dartmouth Castle seats nearly 300 passengers, with over twice the passenger space of the Devon Princess II & III previously used on the Avocet Cruises

In 2010, Dartmouth Castle was bought by the Dartmouth Steam Railway & River Boat Company, marketed as Dartmouth Riverboats and successors to earlier owners Dart Pleasure Craft. Dartmouth Castle (3)  is the oldest large vessel in the Dartmouth Riverboats fleet.

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