PS Iona was a MacBrayne

David MacBrayne Ltd

David MacBrayne Ltd is a company owned by the Scottish Government. Formed in 1851 as a private shipping company, it became the main carrier for freight and passengers in the Hebrides...

 paddle steamer

Paddle steamer

A paddle steamer is a steamship or riverboat, powered by a steam engine, using paddle wheels to propel it through the water. In antiquity, Paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses were wheelers driven by animals or humans...

, which operated on the Clyde

Firth of Clyde

The Firth of Clyde forms a large area of coastal water, sheltered from the Atlantic Ocean by the Kintyre peninsula which encloses the outer firth in Argyll and Ayrshire, Scotland. The Kilbrannan Sound is a large arm of the Firth of Clyde, separating the Kintyre Peninsula from the Isle of Arran.At...

 for 72 years, the longest-serving Clyde steamer.

History

Iona was built in 1864 to replace Iona (II) of 1863. She was built by J & G Thomson of Clydebank, for David Hutcheson & Co., which became David MacBrayne Ltd

David MacBrayne Ltd

David MacBrayne Ltd is a company owned by the Scottish Government. Formed in 1851 as a private shipping company, it became the main carrier for freight and passengers in the Hebrides...

 in 1879. Two previous Clyde vessels had borne the same name. Both had been sold to the USA for blockade running and lost early en route.

Iona became the longest-serving Clyde steamer. After 72 years service, she was retired and broken up side-by-side with her younger sister, at shipbreakers, Arnott & Young at Dalmuir in March 1936.

Layout

Iona had a curved and engraved bow and two funnels. Some of her fittings came from the earlier Iona (II). In 1873 she was fitted with telegraphs and steam steering gear for service on the Ardrishaig

Ardrishaig

Ardrishaig is a lochside village at the southern entrance to the Crinan Canal in west Scotland, in Argyll. Ardrishaig had 1,283 inhabitants in 2001....

 route. She was re-boilered in 1875 and again in 1891, with Haystack type boilers. During the 1891 refit, her funnels were lengthened and moved closer together.

Service

Iona (III) was the main Ardrishaig

Ardrishaig

Ardrishaig is a lochside village at the southern entrance to the Crinan Canal in west Scotland, in Argyll. Ardrishaig had 1,283 inhabitants in 2001....

 steamer until the arrival of in 1878. After that, she continued to operate the early and late season service, sailing out of Oban

Oban

Oban Oban Oban ( is a resort town within the Argyll and Bute council area of Scotland. It has a total resident population of 8,120. Despite its small size, it is the largest town between Helensburgh and Fort William and during the tourist season the town can be crowded by up to 25,000 people. Oban...

 for the rest of the summer. She stayed on the Clyde during the Great War and for a short while was chartered to the Caledonian Steam Packet Company

Caledonian Steam Packet Company

The Caledonian Steam Packet Company provided a scheduled shipping service, carrying freight and passengers, on the west coast of Scotland. Formed in 1889 to complement the services of the Caledonian Railway, the company expanded by taking over rival ferry companies...

, working from Wemyss Bay

Wemyss Bay

Wemyss Bay is a village on the coast of the Firth of Clyde falling within the Inverclyde council area and historic county of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. The name may derive from the Gaelic uaimh, meaning 'cave'...

. After the war, she was refitted and had new saloons added. She then sailed to Lochgoilhead

Lochgoilhead

Lochgoilhead ) is a small village of some 300-400 people and is in the Scottish Highlands in Argyll, Scotland.Situated at the head of Loch Goil, where the Goil river, which rises on nearby Ben Donich and Beinn an Lochain, flows into the loch , it is surrounded by mountains rising as high as 3 000...

 and Arrochar, and later from Oban to Fort William

Fort William, Scotland

Fort William is the second largest settlement in the highlands of Scotland and the largest town: only the city of Inverness is larger.Fort William is a major tourist centre with Glen Coe just to the south, Aonach Mòr to the north and Glenfinnan to the west, on the Road to the Isles...

.