Iorana was designed by E.P. Lewns, a gentleman of independent means, and built under his supervision by David Hillyard at Littlehampton, Sussex, in 1936. The name Iorana is a Tahitian word meaning 'welcome', 'hello', 'hail', or 'good-day', reflecting the greeting used by the natives of the Pacific island.

Before the Second World War, Lewns cruised Iorana each summer from Littlehampton to Fowey in Cornwall, continuing on to Falmouth and the Helford River. He used the vessel for fishing tunny off Cornwall and tope—a small shark approximately 6 feet in length and weighing 45-50 pounds—off Bournemouth, Hampshire.

In 1940, the Royal Navy collected Iorana from Littlehampton for service at Dunkirk, although the vessel was not compulsorily acquired until 1942. After the war, in 1948, the Ministry of War Transport offered the boat back to Lewns, who declined as he desired a larger vessel.

Fred J. Watts, a yacht and boat builder from Parham Boatyard, Gosport, purchased Iorana along with several other vessels requisitioned by the Admiralty during the war. In 1949, engineer Donald Berry inspected the vessel at Watts’ yard and found her to be "very tatty but sound and unaltered from the original design." The engines had been completely dismantled and packed away, and the rudder was missing. Berry undertook the restoration, rebuilding the original engines and commissioning twin semi-balanced rudders cast in admiralty bronze.

Originally, Iorana featured a small wheelhouse and an open stern with light hatch covers over the cockpit. Around 1954, the original Brooke engines were replaced by a pair of handed Vosper V8 engines, which enabled the vessel to reach speeds of 17 knots on the measured mile off Lee-on-Solent. Berry also constructed a larger enclosed wheelhouse and an aft cabin, adapting the vessel for family cruising. He retained ownership until 1963, during which time he cruised extensively in the Solent and along the south coast of England.

Following Berry’s ownership, Iorana was converted into a houseboat moored by the mill stream at Windsor, where her owners lived aboard for four years. Percy Beaumont, Commodore of the Association of Dunkirk Little Ships (ADLS) from 1979 to 1981 and the vessel’s fourth owner, has kept Iorana on the Thames at Staines since then.

Additional Notes

• In 1965, Iorana celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Dunkirk evacuation with a commemorative cruise. The crew consisted of the two owners and a friend. At that time, the vessel was berthed at Eton and functioned effectively as a houseboat. During the cruise, one engine failed, causing the vessel to fall behind the flotilla. The crew also experienced navigational difficulties in Dunkirk harbour.
• In the early to mid-1960s, Iorana was owned by the father of a serving RAF officer. The vessel was brought from the south coast, possibly Littlehampton, to be moored at Taggs Island on the Thames near Hampton Court. Although briefly lived on between houses, Iorana was never used as a houseboat during this period. The family sold the vessel due to an overseas posting, likely through Toughs Boatyard downstream from Hampton Court.
• As of 2015, Iorana remains moored at Staines on the Thames. The vessel has been refurbished and is maintained in good condition.