I grew up in Helensburgh, one of the Waverley's stops on the Clyde. Went on it many times including a memorable trip 'up the watter' to the Glasgow Garden Festival with the rest of my secondary school.
Had an impression on me when I first went on it and still does whenever I see it.
I skimmed through the blog post and also the Wikipedia entries about paddle steamers and paddlewheels, but I couldn't seem to find an answer to this question: why were people still building such ships well after the screw was invented? Ships with screw propulsion were already very commonplace by the time the Waverley was built (1946), so why was it built this way? Was there some advantage to paddle wheels?
I don’t know the answer, but I doubt it was an engineering decision. If she was always a touring boat, paddle wheels are more interesting to experience for the tourist, and might be an edge against your competition. Tourists aren’t taking a boat to get anywhere fast, after all.
It does make me wonder if there are other advantages, like what kind of engine disturbs the environment the least.
See also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Queen (built 1994 - but besides the steam engine-driven paddlewheel also has a diesel-electric propellers "in case of an emergency and for maneuverability around tight areas")
I was thinking maybe paddlewheel boats can traverse shallower water, but if that were the case, wouldn't they still be in use?
This is a great video about the Waverley: https://youtu.be/wuBbnIdwOHA?si=cw9P7wQQ7jf0krmf