LOCH Lomond’s famous paddle steamer, Maid of the Loch, was successfully hauled out of the waters for just the second time in more than four decades today during an historic slipping operation.
The slipping saw the 191-foot-long, 430-tonne paddle steamer hauled out of the water by the original steam powered winch in its A-listed winch house and onto the 120-year-old Balloch slipway.
Now on the slipway, urgent repairs to replace steel beneath the boiler room will be carried out following a full ultrasound survey of the hull, which will provide a definitive report on its current condition.
Funding permitting, a refurbishment of the starboard paddle box will also be carried out before the ship is repainted in her original ‘white goddess’ colour scheme, with yellow funnel and green waterline.
The operation follows more than two years of planning following an unsuccessful winching operation in January 2019 which saw the original carriage of the slipway fail and the ship slip back into the water.
A new specially built articulated carriage incorporating many components from the 1901 original has since been designed by structural engineers David Narro Associates.
A dedicated team of volunteers, led by project manager and engineering director Jim Mitchell, have spent more than 40 weeks clearing away the old structure, building the new one along with the installation of a new 100 tonne haulage rope.
The project has been funded by Historic Environment Scotland and the Architectural Heritage Fund.
More in next week's Advertiser.
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