Seagull Trust - Kirkintilloch

Kirkintilloch

Having successfully established cruising at Ratho, the trustees looked to Kirkintilloch as the location for a second branch. Kirkintilloch sits on the Forth and Clyde Canal, and has a very rich association with the canal since its inception. After discussions with British Waterways, a substantial boathouse was built near the town centre, on the site of R. Hay and Sons Boatyard. This building also housed a dry dock, which would provide housing and facilities for repair and maintenance for two boats.

The construction was completed in 1984, just in time for the arrival of the Yarrow Seagull. This boat was built at Yarrow Shipbuilders by the then apprentices. She was taken back to Yarrows yard on the Clyde in Spring 2009 for a complete refit, and, while there, had her bow section lengthened considerably to accommodate passengers sitting outside on deck in the warm summer weather.

The second boat to arrive at Kirkintilloch was the Marjorie Seagull in 2001. This boat was built by a bequest named in honour of Mrs Marjorie Brown from Edinburgh. It was built by Stenson Marine in Derby to a new design which aimed to lift passengers higher from the water level in order to see better over the higher banks on the Forth and Clyde Canal.

Town centre development saw the need for the land which the building sat on. New accommodation was built further along the canal adjacent to the new marina and was officially opened by HRH The Princess Royal on 30 September 2008.

• Yarrow Seagull in former Kirkintilloch drydock, with Marjory Seagull passing on canal

• Former boathouse / drydock built 1984 in Kirkintilloch

• New boathouse / drydock at Kirkintilloch, opened 2008 with former boathouse in background