The iconic Maid of the Loch was pulled out of Loch Lomond last week for just the second time in over 40 years.
A four-hour operation to haul the 191-foot-long, 430-tonne paddle steamer onto the slipway at Balloch was successful - two-and-a-half years after the Maid broke free and slipped back into the water during a previous attempt.
Work is now underway on urgent repairs to replace steel beneath the boiler room with a full ultrasound of the hull set to 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 Scottish Government has given the project £950,000 and a further £50,000 came from the Paddle Steamer Preservation Society.
Mothballed in 1981 as passenger numbers dwindled, the Maid fell into disrepair and cut a sorry sight in Loch Lomond near Balloch as she was targeted by vandals.
The Loch Lomond Steamship Company have worked for more than 25 years on a £5.5million project to restore her to her former glory - and get the Maid sailing on Loch Lomond once again.
Bringing her onto the slipway marks the next important stage in the quest to save the much-loved vessel.
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 and building the new carriage - incorporating many components from the 1901 original - along with the installation of a new 100 tonne haulage rope.
The slipping project has been funded by Historic Environment Scotland and the Architectural Heritage Fund.
Iain Robertson, chairman of the Loch Lomond Steamship Company, said: “The ship dwarves everything around her, and the ingenuity behind pulling a 430-tonne paddle steamer out of the water really proved a must-see spectacle.
“This is a momentous occasion and a huge step forward in the ship’s restoration.
“As a charity run by volunteers, we are incredibly humbled that we are able to slip the ship with this new and improved equipment, which wouldn’t be possible without the many generous donations and hard-working volunteers.
“We’re hugely excited to see the Maid out of the water for only the second time in 40 years.”
