Historic shop to undergo major refurbishment
LOCH Lomond’s paddle steamer, Maid of the Loch, is to be taken out of the water this week for only the second time in nearly 40 years.
She will be slipped on Thursday to carry out significant refurbishment works.
The slipping will be carried out by Mackay Boatbuilders Ltd, and will see the 191-footlong, 555-ton paddle steamer hauled out of the water by the original winchhouse and onto the Balloch Steam Slipway, a Category A listed building.
Once on the slipway, a full ultrasound survey, overseen by classification society Bureau Veritas, will be carried out on the ship’s hull to provide a definitive report on its current condition, before the major refurbishment takes place.
Work set to take place includes the restoration of the saloon at the back of the ship to 1950’s style, the creation of an education suite and total rebuild of the main saloon.
John Beveridge, chairman of the Loch Lomond Steamship Company, said: “The Maid coming out of the water will be a terrific start to the New Year for the Loch Lomond Steamship Company. The procedure is expected to take up to four hours to complete, and really is a ‘must-see’ spectacle that the charity’s volunteers have worked tirelessly to see happen.
The campaign to restore the Maid and return her to a fully operational steamship was last month boosted after the £950,000 capital grant awarded by the Scottish Government was confirmed along with £50,000 from the Paddle Steamer Preservation Society, taking the work package to £1million.