New replica unveiled of Clydebuilt ship that changed the world

A full-sized replica of a small Clydebuilt ship that revolutionised world shipbuilding will be formally unveiled on Saturday in the town where it was built more than 200 years ago.

The model of Henry Bell's Comet, Europe's first commercially successful steamship which was launched in Port Glasgow in 1812, will be inaugurated at the town's annual Comet Festival.

The ship, which offered passenger sailings between Greenock, Helensburgh and Glasgow, started a race to develop new technology that would later see the Clyde dominate world shipbuilding.

The new model replaces a previous replica built for the 150th anniversary in 1962, but which was removed three years ago as its timbers had rotted.

Retired merchant seaman Captain Murray Paterson has been involved in efforts to install the replacement - and he remembers watching the launch of the previous replica when he was aged 14.

"I was saddened when I saw the state of the old replica and that it had been allowed to deteriorate but they've done a good job with the replacement," he said.

He told BBC Scotland it was hard to overstate Comet's historical significance.

"She was the forerunner of every mechanically powered ship that I've sailed in the merchant navy."

Inverclyde councillor Christopher Curley remembers learning about Comet's place in maritime history as a child and he hopes the new replica will instil the same pride among future generations.

"My mum was a very proud Portonian - she always told me about the Comet and its place in the maritime history of Scotland and Europe and how everything developed from that," he said.

In the early 1800s the improved steam engine of Greenock-born James Watt was powering the industrial revolution but applying the new technology to ships was lagging behind.

Another Scot, engineer William Symington, had a breakthrough with the steamboat Charlotte Dundas in 1803 on the Forth and Clyde canal. But fears that the wake from the paddles would erode the banks saw it mothballed.

Eight years later Henry Bell, who had studied Symington's boat, asked John Wood's shipyard in Port Glasgow to build him a steamship for the River Clyde.

Part of Bell's motivation was to bring guests to the Baths Inn in Helensburgh, which he ran with his wife, to enjoy the benefits of sea bathing, a health craze at the time.

Named after the Great Comet of 1811 which was visible to the naked eye for 260 days, the ship took to the water the following year, offering a passenger service between Glasgow, Greenock and Helensburgh.

In August 1812, the first ever advertisement in the British press for a steamboat journey declared "the elegance, comfort, safety and speed of this vessel requires only to be proved".

Comet was about the length of a modern day bus and had an engine similar in power to a small petrol-driven lawnmower.

The funnel doubled as a mast so it could hoist a sail to supplement its propulsion, and the 23-mile journey from Glasgow's Broomielaw to Greenock took about six hours.

But the service was an instant success, soon emulated by others and heralding a century of steamship innovation that would turn the Clyde into a shipbuilding powerhouse.

Comet would become a huge source of pride for Port Glasgow, even though its historical significance has been less understood or celebrated further afield.

For the ship's centenary in 1912 a three-day festival included a parade, regatta, fairground rides and fireworks, and plenty of pints were undoubtedly sunk in the ship's honour at the Comet Bar on the corner of John Wood Street.

The 150th anniversary in 1962 was also marked by parades and the construction of a working replica of Henry Bell's vessel, paid for by the Lithgow family who owned Port Glasgow's largest shipyard.

The wooden hull was built by boatbuilders in Buckie, while the engine was made at Greenock's Kincaid engine works and fitted by Lithgow's apprentices.

Soon after its launch it was sailed to Helensburgh with a small crew and a dozen local dignitaries on board - including Sir William Lithgow - all dressed in period costume.

The story goes that so much liquid hospitality was accepted in Helensburgh by some crew members that Sir William had to roll up his sleeves and help stoke the boiler to get them home again.

Henry Bell's Comet was given a more powerful engine and lengthened in 1819, but this wasn't enough to stop the ship being driven ashore and wrecked in stormy weather near Oban the following year.

The original engine, designed by engineer John Robertson, was put to use in a Glasgow factory, then at a brewery in Greenock. But it now has a permanent home in London's Science Museum.

Three years ago, the remains of the wooden ship's hull were rediscovered in 39ft (12m) of water off Craignish Point.

The wreck has since been given protected status.

Unlike its predecessor, which was capable of sailing, the new replica is designed as a static display, incorporating materials that lend themselves to longevity.

Specialist display and model maker Aivaf, based in Sheffield, has created a stainless steel structure with drainage channels and clad it with a modified timber that is resistant to rot.

Managing director Bruce Davies explained: "The problem with the old replica was that as a working vessel it was designed to keep the water out.

"So it filled up with water from above and rotted from the inside."

Davies believes the new replica is a more faithful representation than its predecessor, with some changes in hull shape based on old drawings.

The underside has also been given a more coppery hue, as the original ship would have been "copper bottomed" - clad with a thin layer of metal plate to protect it from worms and barnacles.

Port Glasgow's provost will unveil the new ship at 11:30, then a parade through the town will culminate at nearby Coronation Park for the free-to-attend Comet Festival, featuring a gala, stalls, workshops and other attractions until 18:00.