THE last Scottish-built puffer set sail for the first time in years from Irvine Harbour last week.

On Thursday, March 24, the historic Spartan was lifted out of the water and onto the slipway of the Scottish Maritime Museum ahead of a future restoration.

The museum are planning to have the vessel on display within the Linthouse building to give visitors greater access.

Built in 1942, the Spartan was the last of its kind to be constructed in Scotland.

The £60,000 project is part of the museum’s Inside Out initiative and was part funded by Museum Guide Scotland.

And the museum’s curator, Abigail McIntyre, hopes the boat could potentially hold events and exhibitions as well as hosting an artist in residence.

She said: “The Spartan move is part of our bigger Inside Out project which is to take it out of the water and move it on land within the Linthouse.

“This will make it much more accessible to our visitors, particularly disabled visitors who can’t get access out by the water.

“We can now cut a whole in it and expand the space available for events and we are even considering hiring an artist in residence to be inspired by the surroundings of the vessel to see what they can come up with.

“The puffer is full of history, it’s on our badge and it’s a really big part of the museum.

“It’s really quite an ambitious project which we’ve been planning since 2014. We’re hoping to have it moved into the Linthouse by summer or autumn.”