TS Queen Mary

 TS Queen Mary is a Clyde steamer launched in 1933 at the William Denny shipyard, Dumbarton, for Williamson-Buchanan Steamers. 

After retirement from the Clyde in 1977 she was towed to London were she spent her time serving as a bar and restaurant.

She gradually fell into a state of disrepair and was towed to Tilbury docks facing an uncertain future.

In February 2015, TS Queen Mary was served with a prohibition notice by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, preventing her from leaving the Port of Tilbury until made seaworthy. Later that year, TS Queen Mary was arrested by the Port of Tilbury Limited due to the non-payment of berthing dues by the owner, and once again faced the threat of being scrapped.

Eventually the Port of Tilbury put the vessel up for auction, with Friends of TS Queen Mary's bid which was funded by Jim McColl being accepted, the purchase being finalised in October 2015

A campaign to undertake essential repairs was launched in December 2015, spearheaded by Robbie Coltrane and supported by the Sunday Mail. Donations flooded in from across the UK and by March 2016 all of the funding required (£120,000) was in place. The repairs contract was awarded to Dales Marine (Garvel Clyde), and work started in April 2016.

Following a survey by the MCA, TS Queen Mary received a Loadline Exemption Certificate and was able to be towed from Tilbury back home to Scotland. On 15 May, the vessel arrived back on the Clyde and was berthed in James Watt Dock throughout the summer of 2016.

On 1 September 2016, following a campaign to raise £350,000, TS Queen Mary was towed into Garvel Drydock for renovation works. On 1 October 2016, TS Queen Mary returned to James Watt Dock and on 9 November 2016, she left under tow for Glasgow on what would be her first visit to the city since 1977. She is now berthed at the entrance of Princes' Dock, at Glasgow Science Centre where she is undergoing a major refit to become a permanent heritage destination and education centre.

On 11 March 2022, the ship's royal patron, the Princess Royal, announced that the refit would now be extended to allow Queen Mary to return to passenger cruising in 2024. The plans would now require re-engining.

Thanks to wikipedia for the information, the full wikipedia article can be found HERE

Fingal

Fingal was commissioned by the Northern Lighthouse Board (NLB) in 1963 and was the last ship to be built by the Blythswood Shipbuilding Company in Glasgow. Registered in Leith, she was stationed for 30 years in Oban and then for 6 years in Stromness, ferrying lighthouse keepers, essential supplies and maintenance staff to lighthouses, as well as undertaking repairs to navigational aids throughout the West Coast and the North of Scotland. Fingal retired from NLB service in 2000. 

After retiring from NLB service, Fingal was sold to a private owner and renamed ‘Windsor Castle’. The proud new owner fully maintained the ship in working order for 14 years on the River Fal in Cornwall.

It was in December 2008 that Fingal's owner first approached The Royal Yacht Britannia Trust (the Trust) to enquire if it was interested in acquiring Windsor Castle. There then followed six years of negotiations before the ship was eventually acquired by the Trust in July 2014. After a dry dock survey in Falmouth, the ship was towed to Leith in August 2014 and the detailed designs began.

Two years later her original name: Fingal was restored as a tribute to the outstanding role she had performed for the NLB, and the great affection with which she was held throughout the coastal communities she served.

Thanks to https://www.fingal.co.uk/our-story/ for information.

Vic 32

 Vic 32  as seen from Braehead shopping centre, she was coal fired but has since been converted to a bio fuel. People who had never seen a puffer or watched Para Handy would sometimes phone the coastguard thinking she was on fire!

Vic 32 has been converted to carry ten passengers, If you would like to learn more about the puffer click HERE