In 1872 William Bow and John McLachlan founded the company at Abbotsinch, Renfrewshire, where it made steering gear and light marine steam engines. In 1900 the company expanded into the building of small ships by taking over J. McArthur & Co's Thistle Works and shipyard at Paisley, also in Renfrewshire. The expanded undertaking became a limited liability company at the same time. Bow, McLachlan & Co. entered the specialist market for "knock down" vessels. These were bolted together at the shipyard, all the parts marked with numbers, disassembled into many hundreds of parts and transported in kit form for final reassembly with rivets. This elaborate method of construction was used to provide inland shipping for export, or for lakes that had no navigable link with the open sea. The company supplied a number of "knock down" ships to the Uganda Railway for service on Lake Victoria, including the passenger and cargo sister ships and , the larger and cargo ship . Bow, McLachlan developed a good reputation for building tugs, such as , , and Admiraltypaddle tug . The company also built barges, river steamers and small cargo ships. In 1903 the firm shipped the long shallow-draught cargo steamer to Australia "in sections for re-erection at Sydney". Ships built in 1904 included the sail and steam-powered cutter for HM Coast Guard and the steam yacht for Lord Pender. In 1906 Bow, McLachlan built cable layer ships for two of Sir John Pender's telegraph companies: for the Western Telegraph Co. and for the Eastern Telegraph Co. In 1912 Bow, McLachlan built two coastal "pocket liners" for the Canadian Pacific Railway Coast Service in British Columbia: the sister ships and. In 1913 it built two more "knock down" passenger and cargo ships for the Uganda Railway: the sister ships and.
In the First World War Bow, MacLachlan supplied the Royal Navy with the and s and in 1915, the in 1916 and several s. It also supplied the Hunt-class minesweeper in 1916, in 1917,,, and in 1918 and and in 1919. Also in 1919 it built several Moor class mooring vessels for the Admiralty.
1920–32
In 1920 the company went into voluntary liquidation but was reconstituted as a new company with the same name. Also in 1920 the company built the steam yacht for its co-founder William Bow. In the 1920s Bow, Maclachlan supplied export orders from countries including Australia, Greece, India and Portugal. At the beginning of the 1930s the company supplied export orders including a class of six tugs for the Chilean Navy. In 1930 Bow, McLachlan built the motor yacht for Lord Strathcona and Mount Royal. However, by then manufacturing in the UK was declining in the Great Depression so the UK Government sponsored a rationalisation of the shipbuilding industry. In 1932 National Shipbuilders Securities took over and closed down Bow, McLachlan. In the Second World War the yard was reopened briefly to build landing craft.
Surviving ships
Several Bow, MacLachlan ships survive around the World. The veteran cargo ship Nyanza and cargo and passenger shipRusinga on Lake Victoria were reported to have survived into the 21st century, now trading in private ownership. One UK Admiralty Moor class mooring vessel, HMDYC Moorstone, continues in civilian service as the Turkish-registered Cikaran. The paddle steamer was restored in 2001 and continues in tourist service on the River Nile. The pilot boat is preserved in Sydney, New South Wales. The tug Colo Colo is preserved in Punta Arenas, Chile and the paddle tug is preserved at Chatham Historic Dockyard, England.
