Described as a “hardworking and loyal servant” Basuto has been given a new lease of life thanks to our grant of £234,583. Basuto is a Clyde puffer built in Glasgow in 1902 and named after a then British colony (present-day Lesotho). She is part of the collection of the Canal & River Trust’s National Waterways Museum at Ellesmere Port and included on the National Historic Fleet Register.
Clyde puffers were coal-fired single-masted cargo ships. Basuto is the world’s only surviving flat-bottomed inland puffer. She took iron to Falkirk foundries via the Forth and Clyde canal, then coal to Belfast and gravel to Widnes. She served in both World Wars, then in the Manchester Docks until 1981.
Basuto was taking on water and was found to have asbestos. Her fabric was deteriorating and there was a danger of asbestos and other chemicals polluting the canal. Our support has meant Basuto can be lifted from the water onto a custom-built cradle. She’ll be made watertight and the asbestos removed before she becomes a permanent outdoor exhibit that, for the first time, the public will be able to get up close to enjoy.