Sorry for the delay.
When the Naval Militia was formed, it had no actual ships. The early vessels needed to be rushed into production, as native raids were causing anxiety from merchants shipping to and from the island. The first ships of the Vancouver Island Naval Militia were built by British Columbia, and were designed for patrol of fishing waters and for escorting merchant vessels. These early ships were known as the Fort Victoria class, and were armed with ten 3.75" British breechloading guns. They suffered from a slow speed under steam due to the under-powered steam engine used, their sails provided the propulsion most of the time; and from their light armament for their size. However, they did their duty for patrolling the inner passage and escorting merchant ships. A total of seven were ordered, but only 5 were built before production ended in 1874.
Fort Victoria, Post-Refit
(Thanks to Redhorse and his awesome Republic of Texas for much of the inspiration.)