Help to keep Grantham canal open

Osberton  is the latest addition to Grantham Canal Society’s  fleet of boats.

It is similar to ‘John Nuttall’, the weed boat that was used on the canal for many years and was sold to British Waterways’ contractors a couple of years ago.

The Canal is in desperate need of weed and reed clearance for boating, fishing and general appearance as well as for ecological issues.

Osberton appeared on the list of boats that CRT were disposing by auction and GCS managed to acquire the vessel for £6,500. Adding the buyers premium of £1,040 and other charges + VAT of £1708, the total comes to £10,248.

The VAT and some of the other charges they can claim back but purchasing another boat was not something they had planned nor budgeted for, so some individual members of the committee have offered donations to the society to help fund this purchase.

Some of the workparty team, on a recent working day, discussed helping to fund a different boat, Woodcock which was in the same auction. Weed boats are less common so the committee decided to bid for Osberton and may look for a pusher tug at a later date.

The society is asking for donations to the society, gift aided if possible, to help pay for this very useful piece of equipment.

It will need painting in their colours and does need a little mechanical work but the parts are there and workparty mechanics are quite capable of installing them at no cost.

Hopefully it will be delivered to Woolsthorpe either at cost or even better, for free!

If you feel you would like to contribute, email Treasurer, Stan Harbidge and let him know please: stanharb@ntlworld.com

Any money donated through the Virgin website automatically attracts Gift Aid and so the full amount, which is an extra 25p for every £1, goes directly to GCS. If you were thinking of helping us and wish to use ‘Virgin Money Giving’ please click on the following link. It really is very easy. http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/charity-web/charity/finalCharityHomepage.action?charityId=1005825

There is some urgency, as payment for the craft has been made in full by means of a loan by a generous Committee Member.

Predecessor the John Nuttall by Tony Clayton