A model of "SS Mabel" at Gairloch Museum.
History
Name"Mabel"
OwnerLoch Maree Hotel
Ordered1882
BuilderT.B. Seath & Co.[1]
Launched1883
Out of service1911
FateUltimate fate unknown
General characteristics
Length13.7 meters
Propulsion1 × single-screw propeller

SS Mabel was a small cruise ship launched in 1883 and owned by James Hornsby, proprietor of the Loch Maree Hotel, that provided tourists a tour of landlocked Loch Maree, Scotland.[2][3] Mabel also served as a small passenger ferry between Poolewe (Tollie Bay pier 57°44′30″N 5°34′53″W / 57.7416°N 5.5815°W / 57.7416; -5.5815 ) and Kinlochewe (Rhu Noa pier 57°37′43″N 5°20′35″W / 57.6285°N 5.3430°W / 57.6285; -5.3430), which connected visitors arriving by coach from Achnasheen railway station.[2][4]

Hornsby sold Mabel to David MacBrayne, whose steamship operations covered all of west Scotland, in 1887.[5] MacBrayne promoted the vessel as a tourist attraction and it served until 1911, when it was moored up beside Loch Maree Hotel.[2][6]

In 1913 the vessel was beached near to the hotel, where it remained until about 2000.[1][7]

A model of Mabel can be seen in the Gairloch Museum,[6] however some photos show the Mabel with slight differences: the model and some photographs show the vessel with tiller steering, while another image, undated, seems to show passengers at the stern of the ship with a crew member at the wheel on an open bridge.[8]

Passengers joining a small steamboat from a low pier
SS "Mabel" at Tollie Bay, north-west end of Loch Maree, 1905

References

  1. 1 2 "The steamer "Mabel" on a slipway at Talladale, Loch Maree, 1927". Am Baile - Highland History and Culture. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 "New Circular Route on Loch Maree". Bradshaw's Monthly Continental Railway, Steam Transit, and General Guide, for Travellers Through Europe. Bradshaw's. July 1887. p. 704.
  3. ↑ Baddeley, Mountford (1884). "The Northern Highlands and Islands". Time & Fare Tables. London: Dulau and Co. p. xv.
  4. ↑ Sheet 20 Ross & Cromarty (Map). 1:126,720. Edinburgh: John Bartholomew. 1902.
  5. ↑ Deayton, Alistair (2014). "David MacBrayne: 1879–1905". MacBrayne Ships. Stroud, England: Amberley. ISBN 9781445635828.
  6. 1 2 "SS Mabel". Gairlochmuseum. Retrieved 2023-07-12.
  7. ↑ "MHG52224 - MABEL: LOCH MAREE - Highland Historic Environment Record". her.highland.gov.uk. The Highland Council. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  8. ↑ "SS "Mabel" on Loch Maree". Am Baile - Highland History and Culture. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
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