Clyde puffer

The Clyde puffer is a type of small coal-fired and single-masted cargo ship built mainly on the Forth and Clyde canal and which provided a vital supply link around the west coast and Hebrides islands of Scotland. These stumpy little steamboats achieved an almost mythical status thanks largely to the short stories Neil Munro wrote about the Vital Spark and her captain Para Handy, which produced three television series.