The Canal and River Trust (CRT) has received a grant of £234,000 from the National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF) to rescue and preserve a rare steamboat, based at the National Waterways Museum in Ellesmere Port.
The 1902 'Clyde Puffer' Basuto, whose classification as a ‘puffer’ derives from the puffing sound made by her steam engine, was built in Glasgow for use on the Firth & Clyde canal. She is listed on the prestigious National Historic Fleet.
Securing it for future generations
Basuto has been moored in one of the museum’s basins for more than 40 years and the Trust has secured the grant to ensure that vital maintenance is undertaken to secure the rare boat for future generations.
The £254,000 project involves carefully craning the boat out of the water onto the museum slipway and her new, permanent home, resting on a metal support frame. The exterior will be carefully cleaned, before the frame, deck, wheelhouse and hold covers are repaired and re-painted to make her watertight against the weather, as part of a long-term conservation plan.
The Trust are hoping to raise the remaining £20,000 of project costs with a special crowdfunding appeal being launched in April.
Preserving this important boat
Steve Bagley, manager of National Collections at CRT, said: “We are very grateful to National Heritage Memorial Fund for making this life-saving grant, which will help preserve this important boat for the nation.
“Basuto is the oldest known surviving inland ‘puffer’ and has had a fascinating life, starting out on the Forth & Clyde Canal carrying pig iron, then moving to Ireland, back to Scotland, down to Liverpool, over to Widnes, then Manchester Docks, before travelling to Ellesmere Port in 1981.
“Originally built to ensure canal transport could compete with railways, Basuto has been modified several times, served through two world wars and worked as a valued cargo vessel on many of Britain and Ireland’s larger inland waterways for nearly 80 years... She is unique and her personal historical journey gives us a valuable window into our nation’s history – a story which we will be telling the public as part of new interpretation displays to accompany her rescue.”
The plan
The plan is to lift Basuto out of the water in late spring and complete the repairs, preservation and conservation works by the end of this year, in time for the boat to be the centrepiece of celebrations to mark the National Waterways Museum’s 50th anniversary in 2026.
Source/ Photo: Canal & River Trust press release
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