2 Oil SCSA each 8 cyls; 4TD36 airless injection 360 x 600 mm; 1,299 bhp
Speed:
12 kts
Capacity:
500 passengers
MV Claymore (II) was David MacBrayne's last mail boat built in 1955. She served on the Inner Isles Mail on the west coast of Scotland until 1972. Subsequently sold for day cruising in the Greek Islands until 1993, she sank at her mooring in 2000.
Built by William Denny and Brothers of Dumbarton, Claymore was launched in 1955.[1] She revived the name of an 1881 steamer, which had sailed for almost half a century between Glasgow and Stornoway.[3]Claymore was the last major passenger vessel ordered by MacBraynes which was not a car ferry[4] and entered service on the Inner Isles mail from Oban, replacing the elderly Lochearn.
William Denny and Brothers Limited, and often referred to simply as Denny, was a Scottish shipbuilding company.
Dumbarton is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. In 2006, it had an estimated population of 19,990.
Oban is a resort town within the Argyll and Bute council area of Scotland. Despite its small size, it is the largest town between Helensburgh and Fort William. During the tourist season, the town can play host to up to 25,000 people. Oban occupies a setting in the Firth of Lorn. The bay is a near perfect horseshoe, protected by the island of Kerrera; and beyond Kerrera, the Isle of Mull. To the north, is the long low island of Lismore, and the mountains of Morvern and Ardgour.
On merger, in 1973, Claymore remained registered to David MacBrayne Ltd and never adopted the CalMac funnel.
In April 1976, she was sold to Canopus Shipping of Piraeus, and left Scotland on 10 May, as City of Andros, to join her ex-CSP consort City of Piraeus (ex-Maid of Argyll). After rebuilding in Greece, Claymore's name was changed again, to City of Hydra. She was withdrawn around 1993 and laid up at Eleusis. On 24 November 2000, she sank at her moorings and was subsequently scrapped.[3]
Piraeus is a port city in the region of Attica, Greece. Piraeus is located within the Athens urban area, 12 kilometres southwest from its city centre, and lies along the east coast of the Saronic Gulf.
MV Maid of Argyll was a passenger ferry operated by Caledonian Steam Packet Company, initially based at Craigendoran. Rendered redundant by the car ferry revolution, she was sold to Greek owners in 1975. She caught fire in 1997 and was left to decay.
Eleusis is a town and municipality in West Attica, Greece. It is situated about 18 kilometres northwest from the centre of Athens. It is located in the Thriasian Plain, at the northernmost end of the Saronic Gulf. North of Eleusis are Mandra and Magoula, while Aspropyrgos is to the northeast.
Layout
Claymore was a two-class vessel with passenger accommodation over three decks. The dining saloons on the main deck were divided by a mid-line sliding partition. The promenade deck had a first-class observation lounge and bar, a second-class open lounge, first-class staterooms and a hospital room. The lower deck had first- and second-class cubicles. Claymore could carrying 494 in all and had sleeping accommodation for 56 passengers, a big improvement on the 22 who could sleep on Lochearn.[3]
Claymore had the latest navigational aids of the day, radar, Decca, an echo-sounder and wireless-telegraphy. A forward hold and 7.5 ton derrick allowed her to carry 100 tons of cargo and 26 head of cattle. Up to eleven cars could be lifted on board.[3]
Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the range, angle, or velocity of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. A radar system consists of a transmitter producing electromagnetic waves in the radio or microwaves domain, a transmitting antenna, a receiving antenna and a receiver and processor to determine properties of the object(s). Radio waves from the transmitter reflect off the object and return to the receiver, giving information about the object's location and speed.
The Decca Navigator System was a hyperbolic radio navigation system which allowed ships and aircraft to determine their position by receiving radio signals from fixed navigational beacons. The system used phase comparison of two low frequency signals between 70 and 129 kHz, as opposed to pulse timing systems like Gee and LORAN. This made it much easier to implement the receivers using 1940s electronics, eliminating the need for a cathode ray tube.
She underwent a substantial rebuild and lengthening for her service as a cruise ship in Greece,[2] emerging complete with swimming pool, dramatically flared bows and painted silver all over.[3][5]
at Oban railway wharf
Service
Claymore entered service in 1955 on the Inner Isles mail route and remained on this route for almost her entire career. She sailed from Oban to Tobermory, Coll, Tiree, Castlebay and Lochboisdale three time per week.[3] On some summer afternoons she gave short excursions from Oban. Until the arrival of the 1964 car ferries, Claymore was the regular relief at Stornoway. She continued as relief there until the arrival of MVIona.
In the spring of 1972, Loch Seaforth, which could carry more cars, replaced her on the Inner Isles Mail. The wreck of Loch Seaforth in March 1973 prolonged the survival of Claymore, although she was largely laid up for much of her last years on the west coast. Claymore spent the summer of 1974 largely serving Coll, Tiree and Colonsay. After over a year laid up at Greenock, Claymore emerged in October 1975, for a last, brief spell of west coast service, making her last passenger sailing in Scotland, from Colonsay to Oban, on 7 November 1975.[3]
In Greece, City of Hydra made day-cruises for Cycladic Cruises to Hydra, Aegina and Poros from Flisvos Marina.[3]
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