Or; Kyla II Freedom of Scotland
Daylight is lengthening and many people will be crossing the river to the Plank and Leggit and lunch offers at the marina. They will stop in their tracks at the sight of the yacht sitting there. Kyla II. It’s an impressive thing for more reasons than simple good looks. It is a complete one-off finished in 1973 at cost no object on Clydeside by a company called McGruer. They built wooden boats for more than two hundred years. A boat in the water needs a certain amount of depth called draught, around here there is never more than about four feet, this boat needs six feet. So what’s it doing here? Well it’s here for a lot of work during a complete (cost no object again) refit as it’s a Heritage boat maintained and preserved just the way a Listed building is, original as possible. It has Mahogany planking over naturally shaped Oak frames. And with a revolutionary (in it’s day) fin keel, the only one seen on a wooden yacht, common enough now on moulded boats but a brave idea then. All done, they say, by hand, involving no machinery. Altogether this yacht is unique so take a long look, from here she goes back to the Clyde for more work then on a tour of European boat shows and into the Mediterranean, Monaco, Malta, Greece. No strain at all since she’s done the Caribbean a few times. Make sure you get a selfie while she’s here.
Leopold Street
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