In 1859 he married Margaret Nelson, daughter of Alexander Kirkwood of Glasgow, by whom he had an only son. In 1874 he purchased Beach House, Wemyss Bay, which formed for the remainder of his life the family headquarters. It was whilst living here that, although in earlier years he had a distaste for the sea, he built first the "Sea Snake," then the "
Sea King," and lastly the "Sea Queen," all fine steam yachts; but the last especially was considered the pride of Clyde yachts. It was in the "Sea Queen" that he visited the classic shores of the Mediterranean, the grand old fiords of Norway, and the tamer but no less beautiful islands and lochs of our own Western Highlands. His hospitality on board of this magnificent vessel was boundless, and whenever his health permitted him, his juvenility of spirit burst forth, and he became the very soul of all the merriment indulged in.