National Heritage Memorial Fund grant to save Waterways Museum's rare steamboat

The 66 ft canal boat, whose classification as a ‘puffer’ derives from the puffing sound made by her steam engine, was built in Glasgow in 1902. Named Basuto, the boat is on the National Historic Ships Fleet Register, of similar importance to the Cutty Sark, HMS Victory and SS Great Britain.

Securing it for future generations

Basuto has been moored in one of the museum’s basins for more than 40 years and we've 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.

We're 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 the our National Collections, 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 takes her name from Basutoland in Lesotho, a landlocked country in South Africa, which was once part of the British Empire. 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.”

A fascinating 80-year journey

The National Heritage Memorial Fund was set up in 1980 and supports the acquisition, preservation and maintenance of the UK’s most outstanding heritage.

Simon Thurley, Chair of the National Heritage Memorial Fund said: “As the oldest known surviving inland ‘puffer’, Basuto’s story takes us on a fascinating 80-year journey on the UK’s waterways. We are delighted that it will find a new home on a slipway at the National Waterways Museum.

“The National Heritage Memorial Fund exists to save the UK's most outstanding heritage and make it publicly accessible, in memory of those who have given their lives for the UK. We are delighted to count Basuto as part of the growing and timeless collection of UK heritage that belongs to all of us.”

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 museum’s 50th anniversary in 2026.

Known locally as the Boat Museum, the National Waterways Museum site is located at the junction of the Manchester Ship Canal and the Shropshire Union Canal. It displays a fascinating collection of historic boats, waterways artifacts and steam-driven machinery, as well as telling the story of Britain’s canals.