Scotland's Vital Spark the Clyde Puffer with David Hayman

Watching Puffers, Thanks David, As You Said About Mr Milne, I Come From Hamiltonhill And The Building You Showed Was At The Top Of Bairds Brae I walked Across That Bridge Many Times, The Old Man Who Watched After The Raising Of The Bridge, Was Old Danny, Under Him Was The Mc Kinnons, Then Mrs Gallagher, The Cunninghams, The Friels, The Mc Farlanes, And Last Of All, The Brodies, Many Happy Memories, As We All Played Around The Old Carmichaels Horse Cart Yard Behind The Astoria Picture House, I've Been In Australia 60 Yrs, And I Still Remember All My Friends From Around The Canal Bank, Thanks China.😢😊😂

I was introduced to the Puffer by the Ealing Comedy film "The Maggie" many years ago. Then I discovered the original television series of "Para Handy" and of course the endearing Puffer "The Vital Spark". A new television series of Para Handy was made a few years ago filmed entirely on board "The Vital Spark" starring Gregor Fisher as Para Handy, an absolutely enchanting and funny series. Now all these years later the icing my cake is this brilliant "Puffer" program... Wonderful !!! Thank You so much. (FYI : The Maggie and some of the episodes of the original TV series are on YouYube also I managed to purchase the recent Para Handy TV series on DVD from Amazon a few years ago)

This made me cry as I saw my home town of Greenock in the background. As I Clydesider, this is a source of great pride.

Bobby Sinclair’s father was my father’s cousin. I used to watch for the Spartan during my holidays in Rothesay in the 50s and enjoyed watching the coal being offloaded for the gas works where my uncle worked.

Pure Gold, Thankyou.

What a braw documentary. My late father-in-law, born on Arran in 1914, had many tales to tell about the Puffers.

It’s a surprise that the greens haven’t put a stop to those three. I remember the Tales of Para Handy.

What a lovely little documentary great presenter. I wish there was more programs like this..

I was lucky enough to see a few of these wee ships in Londonderry in the 1950s. I would spend most of my free time at the docks and occasionally a puffer would arrive with a cargo of coal. It would tie up behind the Guildhall and standing on the quayside I could smell the steam and hear the hiss of the steam escaping from a valve and feel the heat from the engine room. It's good to know that some are still about.

If our politicians worked as hard as the puffer crews we’d be in a much better state 🤔

My cousin Ronnie Huddleston worked on the puffers and helped restore them in his spare time he and his wife loved them. A brilliant video

There;s a 1950s film called 'The Maggie' which features a Puffer. Well worth a watch.

STILL GAME DADDY'O !🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

I my memory there wS a black and white film of a engined puffer and a small lad on a voyage from Glasgow to Edinburgh and its images have stayed with me all my life although i live and grew up on the other side of the world the language was familiar as my farther was born just out side of Glasgow

this is beautiful, the puffers we're something special like their crews and this documentary is a fantastic tribute to that

As a teenager in the mid sixties I used to watch the puffers passing along the Crinan Canal - we lived by the top lock at Cairbaan.

dont foget the Maggy.Very Gleska great filum I used to sail with Glasgow lads ttfm&ty

@39.34...is that a radar on a puffer?!

great show. Something needs oil at 26 minutes, though.

And then I've watched "Maggie"
Puffers reign supreme⚓

Love it

0) Great documentary on a great subject. Thank you for uploading! :-)

1) Steam ships have disadvantages compared to motor vessels. The size of the bunkers and the water tank (even with a condensor present) have been mentioned. Let me add the considerable consumption of lubrication oil and grease, but most of all: time. On a smaller ship like a puffer, it /may/ be safe to start the fire half a day before sailing. ("Safe": to prevent the boiler from cracking.) So, when "island hopping", the fire may have to be kept burning for the entire voyage, though you may be able to smother it for the night by "banking the fire up" (as I think that the original English expression goes, translated back from Dutch).

2) These Navy puffers have rather high superstructures. Did I see the older ones pasding under bridges with the smokestack turned down? (That was a common feature of tugs here in the Netherlands.)

3) Regarding the risks when beaching: I could imagine puffers to feature additional sheets of iron/steel under the keel, to be replaced "easily" after hitting a rock.

4) Judging from this documentary, puffers were (to an extent...) to Scotland what narrowboats were to England (before the railways and later the trucks took over).

5) I could imagine a resurrection of puffers, in a modern way and shape. Serving islands and remote places with sea containers, the 20' and 10' sizes, some of them refrigerated. Maybe a crane on the bow or on a side for loading and unloading them. (Pipe dream: fitting these modern puffers with hydraulic extenders on the sides, to prevent them from rolling over with a load in the crane ropes when beached.) Wouldn't that constitute a niche market for Scottish ship builders? (I admit: a small market, therefore ignored in the Far East. But Norway and even the Netherlands might be interested. How about the Florida Keys?)

The steam engines on those puffers are “a magnificent testimony to the ingenuity of the human race” That’s true, but more accurately, they’re, a magnificent testimony to the ingenuity of Scotsmen. Old White blokes as they were.

An awesome documentary. I'm a steam fan and would love to spend a week on the VIC 32 in the engine room.

I sailed several times on Spartan as a young man the skipper was Chick Park I loved every minute sailing on her

Very nice but any reason why the Gregor Fisher version wasn't mentioned

I live near Salford docks and I don’t think there is a sadder sight than the empty basins. There used to be ships and men from all over the world pouring in there every day and now it’s a ghostly sight.

The Maggie is one of my favourite films of all times,, those puffers were such a part of history,, I know I have rose tinted glasses,, but there must have been something special for those that worked them,,,,

Best wee story I've watched this year.

We need them now.

There was also a fishing boat called the Viral spark sailing out of Anstruther Fife. Which was doing fishing trips out to the May Isle and Fife ness & was owned by a Welsh Retired University lecturer called Taffy who lived in Cellerdyke

An outstanding video.
I am 75 years old and served my apprenticship as a ships upholsterer with Rowan & Boden, Glasgow.
I have worked in most of the ship yards in the Firth of Clyde including Birkenhead, Southhampton and the noth east of England.
David Hayman is the perfect host for this wonderful presentation. Nostalgic to say the least.

We are the poorer for the demise of the Puffers. Apart from seeing one on Loch Linnie in 1963, I was on a working holiday, on Rum in about 1991 or so. we had been doing various tasks around the Island, and were told that the Puffer was due in the following day, and to be ready for some hard work! It duly arrived, ploughing up Loch Scresort, to charge at the beach until it was grounded. Thereafter it was a mad dash to unload coal, animal feed, hay and straw, everything to fill the barns and sheds with enough to sustain the community for the next year. The Skipper needed the cargo to be unloaded between the top of the tide, and to be ready to depart when the Puffer was floating off again. An amazing experience to have on holiday!

Was aboard this iconic boat back in my fishing days, Vital spark was tied up at the Crinan canal, this was roughly 1995 1997.

I saw the 2nd Vital Spark at Inverary a few years ago. Was it an oil conversion . Has it gone now?? There is still a sunken one off Ayr harbour, you can still see top of masts.

I am Cornish and I have been lucky to have travelled around the world, and nearly everywhere I have met a Cornishman and a Scotsman, very often an engineer. But it always amazes me that though I have lost my Cornish accent, the Scot never loses his accent. David Hayman has a fair English accent when he needs it when acting. But here in Scotland he is speaking with his rich, unique accent. That changes as one moves from the Lowlands to the Highlands, which I find quite magic.Talking of magic, David you have done a great work talking of the Puffers, which I knew when I was down South, as there were Puffers active in Chatham Dockyard in Kent when I was there from 1969 until it very sadly it was closed by Thatcher and her devious government in 1983! Vic 23 comes to mind as one of Chatham's little ships! Thanks for such an interesting and informative program. Being known to have the odd dram and being very partial to the nectar (or nectars, there are many and all so different) from Isla. I loved the tales that were a little near the mark, but told with a devilish twinkle in the eye, a Scot can tell a hell of a tale!. Stay safe.

Remember watching these on the black and white tv in the late 1950’s with my parents. My father having been in the Navy during the war probably was another link apart from the comedy. 👍🏻🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

There is a whole puffer wreck slowly sinking in the mud around the corner from Oban, one of the marks to find it is Connel Bridge and Lismore light on the sound of mull, it is quite deep going on for 50 meters, it is called "Madam Alice"

Very interesting bit of our Scottish History.

Dream life you have, sir! Safe voyage!

As a Yorkshire lad i have seen this Puffer many times , really enjoying our video from a very wet day near Doncaster👍

I had the privilege to make 3 one week trips on VIC32 with Nick as skipper. I've steered her ( through Loch Ness) and assisted the engineer in the engine room. ( Firing her is hot work?) She is a lovely old lady.

A diesel engine at speed is hellish loud !!!! Much louder than a steamer ' I'ld bet !!!

Running in that country and that weather with naught but a compass !!!! Jesus!!! No Radar, not even a sounder My God !!!! Flat bottoms for beach work and canals !!! what lovely boats !!! Hatch covers are just like those on the seine boats I started on !!!!

Bobby Sinclair retired just about the time I went to sea !!! 84 hrs a week is a lot ,tho I worked 140 hrs a week fishing halibut in my 20s and30s Longer than that occasionally in the early herring days !!!!! In , I think , 1976 , we worked 7 days with 14 hrs sleep In the whole week . Made 20 grand that week, tho. !!!! Ah the days when I was young and strong !!!!!

How much do they draw ????

Very enjoyable. Interested to see the makers plate on VIC 32 . I would never have believed that she had been built in Thorne , in South Yorkshire.

I have a great affinity with the Forth & Clyde Canal having lived close to it's banks for most of my life and could be found most Sundays if not fishing matches on the canal, I'd be walking its banks with my camera. I was always aware of the Puffers being built in Kirkintilloch but never really looked into it, until I watched this wonderful documentary.
I've since discovered that 118 boats were built in the town in 20 years. Seeing one launched in this documentary, I still recognised the buildings in the background 100 years later.
Wonderful, thanks for posting 👍👍

Wow, just saw Keith. Hi Keith I have some photos of a party in Loch Fyne with Terry Kelly on the Raylight, think you were on the Dawnlight at the time