The Wayfarer class  cruisers built upon the lessons of the Antares class, providing an affordable cruiser design which was well suited for independent patrol and exploration duties.

The design by the independent designer, P.T.Riley was a compact looking ship with a deflector mounted in a recess in the front of the saucer section, with a tapering elongated primary hull with upward swept nacelle supports.

Compared to the Antares class it was far more warp dynamic, giving much better cruising range despite utilising the same power plant.

In 2241  USS Pathfinder (NCC-1541) had its nacelle mounts flipped over as part of trials which led to the Anton, Tyrannis, Surya and Coventry classes. Pathfinder retained these mounts until 2245