Boats

Island Lass

Island Lass was built by Crinan Boats Argyll in 1967. She has plied the West Coast of Scotland all her life; the last 17 years with Turus Mara.

Heavily constructed along fishing boat lines, of mahogany on oak, she is carvel and measures 46' LOA by 14'6" beam.

Her displacement (weight) is approximately 15 tons and she has been re-engined in 2007 with twin Sole Diesels (Nissan) of 110 HP each, giving a cruising speed of 9 knots.

Determining where to point the hydraulic steering system can be assisted by a Furuno radar and Simrad GPS. Safety announcement and general all round blarney is passed on through a PA System. The daily gossip with other boats and posher voiced comms with Clyde Coastguard are performed on the Simrad VHF or a couple of small portable radios. New for 2008, a plotter and sounder (mainly for the delectation of our customers!)

Licensed by the Marine Coastguard Agency as a Class VI passenger vessel for 69 passengers, she has covered space for approximately 30. She is equipped with all Life Saving and safety appliances as required by MCA regulations and is subject to stability heel test every 5 years.

Coffee and juice are available on board, and with this in mind an electric toilet is provided in the forward compartment.

Hoy Lass

Hoy Lass was built on the Isle of Wight in 1975 for Occidental as a personnel carrier for the oil terminal in Scapa Floe.  We acquired Hoy Lass in 1995 from Wick where she had been a standby vessel for John O' Groats Ferries across the Pentland Firth. She has a GRP hull with an aluminium superstructure and is 50' LOA by 15' beam.

In spring 2005 it was finally time to see the back of her 2 "historic" Rolls Royce engines and these were replaced with twin Daewoo 196TI engines developing 320 HP each, giving enough space in the engine room to swing various proverbial cats. A mind boggling accumulation of redundant electrical spaghetti was also commited to the skip.

The Hoy Lass is licensed by the Maritime Coastguard Agency as a Class VI passenger vessel for 63 passengers. She has covered seating for 47 and 16 seats out on the bracing top deck!
She cruises at 10.5 knots with a maximum speed of around 12 knots. Her displacement is 24 tons.

On board are all Life Saving and safety appliances as required by Marine Coastguard Agency regulations. She is subject to stability heel test every 5 years. Navigation aids aboard include Furuno radar, DSC VHF Radio, PA system and GPS. A new plotter and sounder will be fitted for 2008.