NS3882 : Maid of the Loch - preparations for slipping
taken 20 years ago, near to Balloch, West Dunbartonshire, Scotland
This photograph was taken at 11:30 in the morning. As can be seen here, ropes were being used to manoeuvre the paddle steamer into position, in advance of winching it up onto a rebuilt slipway.
This manoeuvring was the most time-consuming part of the process, and required great care; had the weather not been calm, the slipping would have been postponed until another day.
A few workers were overseeing from the shore, while others can be seen here: some on the Maid itself, and others on a dinghy. Some of them were even keeping an eye on proceedings from below the surface: the small yellow and black shape just above the rocks at the lower left of the photo is the head and shoulders of a diver who had just popped up, and was looking at the bow of the steamer.
![Creative Commons Licence [Some Rights Reserved]](https://s1.geograph.org.uk/img/somerights20.gif){kind=small}
Built by A&J Inglis at Pointhouse, Glasgow, Maid of the Loch was the last paddle steamer built in Britain and the last in a long line of paddle steamers which have plied Loch Lomond since 1818.
She has a two cylinder compound diagonal steam engine by Rankin & Blackmore of Greenock which is capable of 13.75 knots with 1000 passengers.
At 191 feet long and weighing 555 Gross Tonnes, she is much larger than the previous steamers which had been sailed up the River Leven from the Clyde to Loch Lomond. She was originally launched into the Clyde and then dismantled and taken to Balloch in sections to be reconstructed on the slipway there before being launched again, this time into Loch Lomond, in 1953.
In 2004, she was officially designated a historic ship and was placed on the UK “Designated Vessels List” which recognises vessels of “substantial heritage merit with regional and local significance”.
She is now owned by The Loch Lomond Steamship Company who are working to return her to service. A key milestone in this aim was the £620,000 rebuild and restoration of the 1902 Balloch steam slipway complex which is open to the public and well worth a visit.
Although not currently under sail, visitors are welcome and there is a tearoom offering light snacks. Details can be found on the Maid's web site Link.
- Grid Square
- NS3882, 362 images (more nearby 🔍)
- Photographer
- Lairich Rig (more nearby)
- Date Taken
- Tuesday, 27 June, 2006 (more nearby)
- Submitted
- Tuesday, 4 November, 2008
- Subject Location
-
OSGB36:
NS 384 825
[100m precision]
WGS84: 56:0.4882N 4:35.5498W - Camera Location
-
OSGB36:
NS 385 824
- View Direction
- West-northwest (about 292 degrees)
