Part of a second logboat was subsequently found 'close by the island'; its fate is not recorded. This boat was worked from 'oak'. In May 1952 part of a logboat was found on the west side of the loch and on the property of the Glengarnock Steelworks; slag-dumping operations were responsible for revealing it. Analysis of pollen from the mud found in the timber suggested that the logboat was from between about 3000 and 700bc. The surviving portion of the boat was donated to Paisley Museum. The southern end of the loch was the site of infill with slag and other wastes from 1841 onwards, the greatest loss of open water being between 1859 and 1909. By 1930 the southern end infill had largely ceased, however infill from the west bank continued for some time. Access At the Kilbirnie end the loch can be accessed by following the B777 to the Lochshore Industrial Estate. This provides ample parking and the road leads to the boat launching area in the south-west corner of the loch. At the Beith end the unclassified 'Kerse' road runs between Beith and the A760 enables access to the northern shore of the loch. Parking along the roadside is difficult. At the railway bridge (NS 338 552) close to the old station is a rough track which leads down to the lochside and parking in this area is hazardous. The track and the area at the bottom are used by the local Kayak Club. Access to the land along the north shore is dependent upon the good will of the landowner at Kerse Bridge Kennels. Part of the Sustrans National Route 7 runs close to the loch, starting at Paisley Canal railway station and following the same route as National Route 75 until Johnstone, passing Elderslie and continuing south-west to Kilbarchan, Lochwinnoch and Kilbirnie, passing by Castle Semple, Barr as well as Kilbirnie Loch. Cycle paths runs on down via Glengarnock, Dalgarven and Kilwinning to Ardrossan, Irvine and beyond. Transport The loch was used for pleasure cruises in the 18th century and coal was once carried from the Kilbirnie side across the loch to Beith. Hugh Stevenson used to have the "sole right to howk coal in Brodie's Glen" up the Maich Water. Hugh Stevenson transported the coal down to the loch, and ferried it across to a jetty which was near the mouth of the Mains