The Maid of the Loch paddle steamer is set to be pulled out of Loch Lomond today for only the second time in more than 40 years.
The paddle steamer's "slipping" will see the 191-foot-long vessel winched out of the water by the original steam-powered winch on to the Balloch Slipway.
A previous attempted in January 2019 ended in failure when the line broke and the 430-tonne Maid raced back into the water, sending crews diving for safety.
The entire process today is due to begin at around 10.30am and is expected to take four hours to complete.
Campaigners working to restore the Maid need her out of the water to carry out urgent work, including replacing steal under the boiler room after a full ultrasound of the hull. That will offer a picture of the current condition.
The Loch Lomond Steamship Company, which has championed a long-term future for the ship, said if funding permits, they will refurbish the starboard paddle box before the Maid is repainted in her original "white goddess" colour scheme with a yellow funnel and green waterline.
Structural engineers David Narro Associations and a team of volunteers have spent more than 40 weeks clearing the old articulated carriage and building a new one to work with a new 100-tonne haulage rope to get the Maid out of the Loch.
Iain Robertson, chairman of the Loch Lomond Steamship Company, said: “The ship will dwarf everything around her, and the ingenuity behind pulling a 430-tonne paddle steamer out of the water really is a must-see spectacle.
"This is a momentous occasion and we are confident that the new carriage will deliver a successful operation 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.
"Everyone involved has worked tirelessly to build the new carriage and we’re hugely excited to see the ship out the water for only the second time in 40 years."
The project is funded by Historic Environment Scotland and the Architectural Heritage Fund.
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