Puffer aground

Image: © James Allan Taken: 22 Apr 2010

Puffers were small cargo boats that plied the Firth of Clyde and would occasionally venture as far as the Hebrides. They had flat bottoms and bluff bows which allowed them to beach at low tide and operate independently of piers or jetties. Their cargoes included coal, gravel, and building materials, to farm produce, furniture and indeed almost anything required by the coastal residents. During both WW1 and WW2 they were impressed to carry munitions and supplies for the Royal Navy. The tales (and television series) of Para Handy made the puffer Vital Spark famous but they are now an all but extinct breed. They gained their name from the characteristic puffing sound of their original slow-revving non-condensing steam engines and even though later ones were diesel powered, the old name stuck http://www.secretscotland.org.uk/index.php/Secrets/ClydePuffer This is a small sculpture by George Wyllie of the Vital Spark in the grounds of Kelvingrove Art Gallery with the tower of the University of Glasgow in the background.

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