Machan

In the Waters of the Loch, you can see Machan, an underwater observation hide built by Adrian Shine and used during his early expeditions to Loch Morar, often known as the “other monster loch”, in 1974 and 1975. The point was that the water was much clearer than the dark peaty water of Loch Ness and witnesses reported large shapes moving close along the shore, so the chamber was used down to 10m offshore. The name Machan is the Hindi word for the hide from which hunters waited for a tiger.
The small underwater chamber was made from six fibre glass sections, 20 layers thick bolted together. To dive, the observer allowed water into two tanks alongside the seat. Resting on the loch bed, Machan was connected to the shore by air lines and a telephone. Space inside was very limited, meaning observations lasted no more than two hours. To surface, the observer pumped a little water out of the tanks with a high-pressure wartime ‘stirrup pump’ to counteract outside water pressure. Once just at the surface, a larger conventional bilge pump, expelled enough water for the hatch to be opened.
Bait was used to attract fish, while the observer looked up through sloping glass windows towards the bright surface, hoping to spot the whole silhouette of a large unknown animal swimming above, in contrast to the controversial photos, like the Gargoyle Head, claimed from Loch Ness.
Safety was a major challenge. In an emergency, the observer could release a large cage containing half a ton of rocks collected from the shore. If that failed, the only option would have been to flood the submersible, open the hatch and swim for the surface.
Although Machan did not encounter a mysterious creature, it was an innovative piece of equipment giving passive insight into the hidden world beneath Scotland’s lochs