Nearly £40k raised to repair historical ship at Irvine harbour
MV Kyles is the oldest vessel in the world built on the Clyde.
Nearly £40,000 has been raised to repair a historical ship at Irvine harbourside.
The Scottish Maritime Museum raised the money through a Crowdfunder campaign for the maintenance work on the MV Kyles.
The vessel was built by John Fullerton & Co. at Paisley in 1872 and served first as a tender for the Clyde fishing fleet, up until 1881.
At 148 years, MV Kyles is older than the Falls of Clyde, tall ship Glenlee and the Sir Walter Scott.
MV Kyles was brought out of Irvine Estuary at the end of last year in advance of the repairs, which the Scottish Maritime Museum’s Scottish Boat Building School and Curatorial teams on Irvine Harbourside, hope to begin over coming months.
Funds raised will also allow the team to repaint Kyles inside and out, restore the cabins to how they would have looked whilst it was a working vessel.
David Mann, Director of the Scottish Maritime Museum, says: We are blown away by the support for our campaign to get MV Kyles shipshape for its 150th anniversary in 2022.
“Thanks to everyone who has donated, and the help of the #supportourmuseums initiative which made the campaign possible, we can ensure that this historic vessel remains part of Scotland’s living maritime heritage for decades to come.
“We can make essential repairs, create new interpretation and now we can be even more ambitious, working on the engine so Kyles can sail under its own power for first time in over a decade.
“All going well, we even now hope to sail Kyles up the Firth of Clyde and into Glasgow for the UN’s Climate Change Conference in November.”
A £15,000 donation to the campaign was from Mr John Paul DeJoria of Texas.
Mr DeJoria is one of the signatories on Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffet’s ‘Giving Pledge’ committing billionaires to give the majority of their wealth to philanthropy.
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