Clyde puffer

The **Clyde puffer** is a smaw coal-fired an single-mastit cargo ship, biggit mainly on the Forth and Clyde canal, that gied a purvey link athort the wast coast an Hebrides o Scotland.

Biggit atween 1856 an 1939, thir steamboats wis the subjeck o sindry short stories Neil Munro wrate aboot the Vital Spark an captain Para Handy, that produced three telly series.

## Characteristics

Clyde puffers characteristically haed bauch bous, crew's quarters wi table an cuikin stove in the focsle, an a single mast wi derrick afore the lairge hold. The lum an the ship's wheel bidit eft abuin the engine ruim, follaed by a wee captain's cabin in the starn. Whan publication o the *Vital Spark* stories began in 1905, the ship's wheel wis aye in the appen, but later a wheelhoose wis addit eft o the lum, giein the puffers thair distinctive image. Thair flat bottom alloued thaim tae saund an liver at laich tide, essential tae purvey hiddly settlements athoot confeerin piers. Teepical cargoes could include coal an furniture, wi ferm produce an gravel whiles bein brocht back.

## Survivin craft

A few puffers survive as conservation projecks, tho maist haes diesel engines.

*VIC 32*  is ane o the last few survivin coal-fired steam-pouert puffers an is based at The Change House, Crinan. She wis biggit by Dunston’s o Thorne, Yorkshire in November 1943 – a busy time fur the Clyde Ship biggin yairds. As the wartime Admiralty needit 50, (later 100) victuallin boats in a hurry, they were biggit in groups o three by various yairds in England. Ne new designs wis needit as the perfeck boat existit in a Clyde Puffer.

Steam sailins on VIC 32 haes been available tae the public frae 1979, latterly as cruises on the Caledonian Canal. Syne 2004, she unnergaun extensive refittin at Corpach Boatyard at the wast end o the canal naur Fort William, fundit by donations an lottery funds. Efter the fittin o a new boiler by Pridham’s Engineering an Corpach Boatbuilders, she steamed doun frae Fort William tae Crinan, frae whaur cruises on the Caledonian Canal haes nou re-commenced.   

*Vic 56* wis biggit by Pollock, o Faversham in 1945. She is preserved in working order at Chatham Historic Dockyard, regularly steaming in the Thames an Medway estuaries. 

*Vic 96* wis biggit by Dunstons o Thorne, South Yorkshire, in 1945, an efter disposal wis restored at Maryport. The restoration wis complete in 2009, reteenin its steam engine, byler an airn man.
On 8 August 2009, *VIC 96* arrived at her new hame, Chatham No. 1 Basin, efter a 1,000 mile vaige frae Elizabeth Dock, Maryport, that taen five week.

*VIC 27* wis biggit at Rowhedge Ironworks. She wis renamed *Auld Reekie*, an kythed as the *Vital Spark* in the third BBC TV Para Handy series, wis birtht at Crinan Basin fur 14 year dwynin. She wis cofft in October 2006 by the awner o the Inveraray Maritime Museum wha cairried oot some wark on her but she haes been selt again syne then tae a new awner wha haes awready stertit a feck o sotin wark on her.

*VIC 72*, renamed *Eilean Eisdeal*, continued in operation as the last o the wirkin "puffers" intae the mid 1990s. In 2006, she wis again renamed as *Vital Spark of Glasgow* efter the Inveraray writer Neil Munro's *Para Handy* stories. She is nou aiccessible tae the public, alangside the *[[Arctic Penguin]]* at the Inveraray Maritime Museum, an continues tae mak sailins.

The *Spartan*, anither diesel-engined "puffer", is on shaw at the Scottish Maritime Museum at Irvine. "Spartan" has recently unnergaun sortin wark on her howe, an is still bein refit. The museum forby includes the diesel-pouert motor coaster MV *Kyles* at Irvine (an early Clyde biggit coaster, no a puffer).

The ''Pibroch'', built at Bowling, West Dunbartonshire in 1957 as a diesel-engined boat fur the Scottish Malt Distillers Ltd, haed been leein at Letterfrack, County Galway, Ireland, syne 2002. The Pibroch dwyned mair wi time passin, an her boukheids began tae yield. In 2010, she wis selt an wis wrackit thareefter. A sister-ship, the *Julia T.*, lees in 30&nbsp;m o watter in Killary Bay thareaboot a furlong an twa chain aff Lettergesh.

There haes forby been reproduction puffers biggit tae a weeer size, maist recently the *MV Mary Hill*  fur tourist traffic on the Forth an Clyde canal.

## Notes


## References

*Donald, Stuart (1994). *In the Wake of the Vital Spark*. Stirling: Johnston & Bacon,  (hdbk);  (pbk)
*Lavery, Brian (2001). *Maritime Scotland*. London: Batsford, 
*McDonald, Dan (1977). *The Clyde Puffer*. Newton Abbot: David & Charles, 
*
*Paterson, Len (1996). *The Light in the Glens: The Rise and Fall of the Puffer Trade*. Colonsay: House of Lochar, 
*Burrows, George W. (1981). *Puffer Ahoy!*. Glasgow: Brown, Son & Ferguson, 

## External links
*Puffers and Vics
*Save the Puffer *VIC 32* Puffer Preservation Trust
*''Pibroch'': picture
*''Pibroch'': facts
*Ardmaleish (''MV Mary Hill'')
*Clyde Puffers – ''Hand Carved Wooden Models'' 
*Melbridge Dock – Clyde Puffers
*The Restoration of ''VIC 96''