Historic paddle steamer to be transformed ahead of £1 million project

A 65-year-old paddle steamer is to be hauled out of Loch Lomond ahead of a £1 million project to transform the historic vessel into a visitor experience. The Maid of the Loch, originally launched in 1953, will be taken out the water for only the second time in nearly 40 years today (Thur). Built by A. & J. Inglis in Glasgow, the steamer has laid out of service on the banks of Loch Lomond in Balloch, West Dunbartonshire since 1981. The slipping will see the 191-foot-long, 555-ton vessel hauled out of the water by the original winchhouse and onto the Balloch Steam Slipway, a Category A listed building.