RESTORATION MAY 2023
After many years of frustrating attempts at achieving progress, by the summer of 2023, the drastic stripping back has begun to show dividends and some refitting and recoating has started. There is still a great deal to do, including stripping back, but the volunteers are feeling more upbeat and positive than ever.
The folloing photos give some idea of the stage it is at now.
The Maid on the slipway with her "new" funnel colour - actually back to its original.
The bow. Stripped back and primed to starboard. Some of the previous paint to port.
A thoroughly stripped and primed starboard forward side.
The slipway. Note the ratchets in the central track.
The stern is still looking stern.
The rudder awaiting scraping down. You can just make out some rough welding of the lower section where it was increased in depth.
Looking north east across the Loch.
The port paddle wheel is all stripped back with some sections removed for repair.
By contrast the starboard wheel is looking good and awaits the replacement of its paddles.
Above the paddle wheel housing is this enchanting celtic inspired logo.
Looking back towards the Loch with the funnel in its "new" colour diligently replicating its original livery. As for those wobbles in its surface - well they are now part of the Maid's scars of life. They are a result of a foreign film crew trying to replicate the dark smoke of its early days by burning tyres. As the Maid heads for a new life in an environmentally responsible era, black smoke from its funnels is just not acceptable and its engines are being adapted to comply. But these undulations in the funnel remind us of its earlier days.
