Moorings on the Loch Lomond

Loch Lomond is 36.4 km (22.6 miles) long and between one and eight kilometres wide, with a surface area of 71 square kilometres. Its southern end at Balloch is about 23 km north-west of Glasgow, and villages on its shores include Luss, Tarbet, Ardlui, Balmaha and Rowardennan. The loch drains south through the River Leven, which leaves it at Balloch and joins the Clyde at Dumbarton, but the Leven is crossed by nine bridges and two weirs and is no longer considered navigable, so boats on the loch have no route to the sea.

The Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park Authority oversees the loch and its byelaws. Motorised boats must be registered with the Authority and display their registration number. An 11 km/h speed limit applies in sensitive areas, and the Duncan Mills Memorial Slipway in Balloch is open for launching seven days a week.

More boats cruising on Loch Lomond leave from Balloch than from anywhere else. Moorings on Loch Lomond include Loch Lomond Marina at Balloch, a family business on the River Leven founded in 1986 that offers berthing, storage and repairs. At the north end of the loch, Ardlui Marina has pontoon berths, a boatyard and 26 swinging moorings for boats up to 35 feet, and on the east shore the Macfarlane and Son boatyard at Balmaha has been run by the same family for more than 150 years.