Editing SS Sir Walter Scott (section)

{{Short description|Small steamship ferry service on Loch Katrine in the scenic Trossachs of Scotland}}{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2017}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin
}}
{{Infobox ship image
| Ship image = Sir Walter Scott at Trossachs Pier - geograph.org.uk - 144100.jpg
| Ship caption = Sir Walter Scott at Trossachs Pier, 1981
}}
{{Infobox ship career
| Hide header = 
| Ship name = ''Sir Walter Scott''
| Ship namesake = [[Sir Walter Scott]]
| Ship owner = 
| Ship operator = 
| Ship registry = {{Flagicon|UK|civil}} Glasgow
| Ship route = [[Loch Katrine]]
|Ship country= United Kingdom
| Ship flag = {{shipboxflag|United Kingdom|civil}}
| Ship builder = [[William Denny and Brothers]]
| Ship original cost = £4,269
| Ship yard number = 623
| Ship way number = 
| Ship laid down = 
| Ship launched = 1900
| Ship completed = 1900
| Ship christened = 
| Ship acquired = 
| Ship maiden voyage = 
| Ship in service = 
| Ship out of service = 
| Ship identification = [[Official Number]] 111266
| Ship fate = 
| Ship status = In Service
| Ship notes = 
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
| Hide header = 
| Header caption = 
| Ship class = Pleasure steamer
| Ship tonnage = 115 [[gross register tonnage|grt]]
| Ship displacement = 
| Ship length = {{convert|110|ft|m|abbr=on}}
| Ship beam = {{convert|19|ft|m|abbr=on}}
| Ship height = 
| Ship draught = 
| Ship draft = 
| Ship depth = {{convert|9.6|ft|m|abbr=on}}
| Ship decks = 
| Ship deck clearance = 
| Ship ramps = 
| Ship power = Three-cylinder [[triple-expansion steam engine]]
| Ship propulsion = Propeller
| Ship speed = 
| Ship capacity = 
| Ship crew = Five
| Ship notes = 
}}
|}

'''SS ''Sir Walter Scott''''' is a small [[steamship]] that has provided pleasure cruises and a ferry service on [[Loch Katrine]] in the scenic [[Trossachs]] of [[Scotland]] for more than a century, and is the only surviving screw steamer in regular passenger service in Scotland. She is named after the writer [[Walter Scott]], who set his 1810 poem ''[[Lady of the Lake]]'', and his 1818 novel ''[[Rob Roy (novel)|Rob Roy]]'' around Loch Katrine.

In 1859 Loch Katrine became [[Glasgow]]'s main water supply, connected by [[Aqueduct (watercourse)|aqueducts]] and tunnels to the city more than {{convert|30|mi|km|-1|abbr=off}} away through a hilly landscape. The Trossachs became very popular in the [[Victorian era]], and there were early steamship services on the loch. The Loch is surrounded by wooded mountains, and has romantic historical connections including the birthplace of the outlaw [[Robert Roy MacGregor|Rob Roy MacGregor]]. [[Victoria of the United Kingdom|Queen Victoria]] had a holiday house built overlooking the loch.

[[William Denny and Brothers]] built ''Sir Walter Scott'' as a "knock-down" ship; that is, the steamer was assembled with bolts and nuts at Denny's shipyard at [[Dumbarton]] on the [[River Leven, Dunbartonshire|River Leven]] in 1899, launched and undertook performance trials in the [[Firth of Clyde]], including recording her speed on the [[measured mile]].  She was then dismantled and the numbered pieces were transported by barge up [[Loch Lomond]] and overland by horse-drawn cart to Stronachlachar pier on Loch Katrine where the steamer was reassembled with permanent rivets and, in 1900, relaunched.<ref name=steamerlc>{{cite web |url=http://www.incallander.co.uk/steam.htm |title=Loch Katrine and Steamship Sir Walter Scott in The Trossachs |work=Trossachs Hotels, Accommodation and Guide - Callander to Loch Lomond, Aberfoyle to Killin |access-date=21 May 2011}}</ref> The original cost was £4,269, which included a delivery charge of £2,028.<ref name=sssw>{{cite web |url=http://www.electricscotland.com/history/other/ss_walter_scott.htm |title=S. S. Sir Walter Scott |work=ElectricScotland.com |access-date=21 May 2011}}</ref>
[[File:Sir Walter Scott - 5 - pre1905.jpg|thumb|left|''Sir Walter Scott'', as built]]
[[File:The Sir Walter Scott on Loch Katrine - panoramio.jpg|thumb|left|''Sir Walter Scott'', in 2013]]
''Sir Walter Scott'' measures 115 [[gross register tons]], is {{convert|110|ft|m|abbr=off}} long and has a {{convert|19|ft|m|abbr=off|adj=on}} beam. She is powered by the original three-cylinder [[triple-expansion steam engine]] made by Matthew Paul & Company, Dumbarton, and has two [[locomotive boiler|locomotive-type boilers]] which until the end of 2007 were fired by solid fuel fed into the firebox by a stoker. At a time when most steamers changed to oil-fired boilers, ''Sir Walter Scott'' kept using solid fuel to meet the requirement of ensuring that Glasgow's water supply was not polluted, changing from coal to coke to reduce air pollution. In a refit at the end of the 2007 season the boilers were altered to run on [[biofuel]]. During this refit, the superstructure was rebuilt and a forward deck cabin was added.<ref name=herald>{{cite news |title=SS Sir Walter Scott returns to Loch Katrine |last=Devine |first=Cate |url=http://www.heraldscotland.com/ss-sir-walter-scott-returns-to-loch-katrine-1.908298 |newspaper=[[The Herald (Glasgow)|The Herald]] |date=23 April 2009 |access-date=21 May 2011}}</ref> The vessel has a crew of five.<ref name=steamerlc/>

''Sir Walter Scott'' sails from Trossachs pier at the east end of the loch, {{convert|7|mi|km|abbr=off|0}} northwest of Callander and runs a ferry service {{convert|8|mi|km|0|abbr=off}} west along the loch to Stronachlachar pier. She runs in the morning at 10:30, taking walkers and cyclists who return by land. She then takes those embarking at the pier and those doing the round trip back to Trossachs pier. In the afternoon she also does one or more shorter scenic cruises. Between January and March the ship is taken up on a slipway for maintenance work. A second boat, ''Lady of the Lake'', runs return trips to Stonachlachar in the summer months and also runs between January and March on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays.