Monument record MHG4668 - Loch Laggan

NN48SE 1 c. 462 849.

(Area: NN 462 849) In 1934 Loch Laggan was lowered some 16' and it has again been lowered since then on several occasions (Maxwell 1953). Due to the summer drought the low level of the loch exposed two partly buried dug out oak canoes on the N shore at NN 462 849. One of these was brought ashore, it was 17' 6" long, 1' 8" broad, narrowing to 1' across the stern. Along the bottom were two rows of holes fitted with pegs flush with the wood. The stern had a square slot for a steering oar or tiller (St Joseph 1955) (For other canoes from this loch see NN58NW 3, 4, 5: NN48SE 2: NN48NE 1)
S Maxwell 1953; J K St Joseph 1955.

Until recently the remains of this dug-out canoe lay in the garden of the cottage at Rubha na Magash (NN 4620 8502) (Information from Ewen Macdonald, Moy Farm, Tulloch, Inverness); but it is no longer there, and its present whereabouts are unknown.
Visited by OS (R D) 14 October 1965.

Seven logboats and the remains of a framed boat of unknown date (NN48NE 4) have been discovered during periods of low water level on the shores of Loch Laggan, an extensive highland loch which occupies a deep glaciated valley in the catchment area of the River Spean at an altitude of about 280m OD and is used for the generation of hydro-electric power. The various accounts of the five earlier discoveries were collated in 1951 but those made subsequently have received only brief publication.
In 1955 two 'partly buried' logboats were found on the N shore of the loch. It is probable that neither of these boats survives.
6. One of them was brought ashore and found to measure 17'6" (5.3m) in length and between 1' (0.3m) and 1'8" (0.5m) in breadth, being broader at the bow. Along the bottom there were two rows of what were probably plugged thickness-gauge holes, and at the stern there was a 'square slot' which was said to be for a 'steering oar or tiller'. The form of the boat cannot be determined, but on the basis of the recorded measurements the slenderness coefficient was unusually high at 10.5; it is possible that the boat had split and that full beam was not recovered.
J K St Joseph 1955; R J C Mowat 1996.