IF THE visitor book that sits in the Maid of the Loch at Balloch is anything to go by, there is a wealth of affection from all around the globe for the last paddle steamer to be built in Britain.

Only the 555-tonne tourist attraction hasn't ferried a single passenger around Scotland's largest inland waterway since 1981. It's a sad fact that paddle steamer enthusiast John Beveridge wants to change.

"Some of the comments in the visitor book are fascinating," said the director of the Loch Lomond Steamship Company (LLSC), the charity steering the restoration of the ship.

"We've got people from Uzbekistan, Korea, Japan, and they are all saying for goodness sake get this ship sailing again.

"They fall in love with it. The comment we usually get is: 'When is she sailing?' It's a disappointment when we say the ship hasn't sailed for 30 years."

A team of almost 40 volunteers regularly give up their time to help bring the historic paddle steamer back to its former glory.

Last weekend, Greenock-based ship repair company Garvel Clyde sent a signwriting team to re-paint the name on its bow. The job was carried out for free, a gesture to mark the ship's 60th anniversary.

The ship is now open every day as a static tourist attraction and cafe, and has a licence to host functions for up to 260 people.

Yet none of this was possible back in 1995 when the charity took ownership of the vessel.

"The ship was just about sinking at the pier because it had been vandalised," said John, 60.

"There was five feet of water in one of the lower rooms.

"It was a sorry state. Most of the rooms had been vandalised and had things stripped out of them. It's taken this length of time to get it back to a reasonable condition. But it's a quantum leap between having it tied up at the pier for functions and actually getting a passenger certificate for it to sail again."

Now that the Maid is in a safe state of repair, the team have set themselves their biggest challenge yet: to raise £3.3million through a public appeal.

So far, around £62,000 has been raised. It might seem like a drop in the ocean, but the volunteers have geared themselves up for a long fight.

With the Cruise Loch Lomond company this week reporting a surge in numbers of tourists from India, China and Russia, the LLSC wants the Maid to help cater to that demand.

"You go to the continent and some lakes have several paddle steamers on them," said John.

"A lot of them are a lot older than the Maid. Some are 120 years old and still in daily service.

"They make a virtue of it – they promote them in tour guides and hotels. People love it. They flock to them. We've got the same thing in Scotland, so why can't we do that here?"

Built at the Inglis Yard on the River Clyde, the Maid was capable of transporting up to 1000 passengers at a time during her three decades of service.

The freshwater loch means that rusting isn't the same issue that it would be for a similar, sea-going vessel which had lain unused for decades.

YET the ship can't move anywhere until it has a new boiler, which will cost £200,000.

The cost of the installation will add another £200,000, given that the funnel and part of the deck needs to be removed to lay the pipework.

In addition to having many of its missing copper and brass fittings replaced, it would need to meet rigorous safety stand-ards before being given approval to carry up to 600 passengers.

"If somebody wrote us a cheque for the £3.3million, we could get the ship sailing in nine or 10 months," said John.

"But, realistically, it's going to take a lot longer than that. I think we'll be talking about 2015 at the earliest, but maybe 2016."

A former environmental health officer and director of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, John's interest in the steamer stemmed from memories of sailing 'doon the watter'.

He spent holidays in Arran and Millport as a young boy, then spent summers with his friends on the Clyde paddle steamers.

He doesn't want Scotland to lose any more of its steamboat heritage, which began with PS Comet more than 200 years ago.

"It's a great way to see places," added John. "On a boat or a ship, you can see things that you couldn't possibly see from land.

"This is an asset that is under used. We can create up to 30 jobs, we can give a visitor experience that is second-to-none."

Now retired, John travels from his home in Dunblane to Balloch most days to oversee the work of the charity that he founded. And, there's an uncanny coincidence between John and this paddle steamer ... they are the same age.

"My birthday is at the end of February and she was launched at the beginning of March," says John, laughing.

l Maid of the Loch is open every day until the end of August, from 11am to 5pm, then open week-ends only. Admission is free.

LOCH ASSET Charity chief and 40 volunteers bid to return paddle steamer to former glory