The steel hull, up to the underside of number 2 deck and steam engines was ordered in April 1924 as Yard No.1168 from the
William Denny & Brothers shipyard on the
River Leven adjoining the
River Clyde at
Dumbarton,
Scotland, and shipped on 8 November that year. The paddle wheel shaft and cranks were supplied by
Krupp Stahlwerke AG, Germany. Denny persuaded the owners to adopt the builder's own structure for steel girders, allowing traditional
hog chains to be dispensed with.
Delta King was shipped in pieces to
Stockton, California in November 1924 for assembly and completion by California Transportation at their yard at Banner Island, Stockton. As designed, the hull of
Delta King measured 1,150
GRT, and
displaced 1,700 tons. She was long, wide, and drew , though this would have changed when the additional wooden decks and stern-wheel were added. A pair of two-cylinder compound horizontal engines (Denny's Special Order 1090-1091) were designed to produce 1,500
ihp, and steering was by four rudders; the stern wheel was constructed of
fir, with 28 arms and paddles. At Stockton the upper decks were completed and the ship fitted out. Above a main deck of
Siamese ironwood were two further decks constructed from
oak,
teak,
mahogany and
cedar. Cabins were opulent and equipped with
air conditioning and heating. The lower decks also carried freight and cars. ==History==