Proper funding is needed to make repairs at the Whitewater Canal and purchase a new canal boat.
The Ben Franklin III. Photo by the Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites.
(Metamora, Ind.) – The Ben Franklin III canal boat will not return to the Whitewater Canal.
The Whitewater Canal State Historic Site announced this week that the boat has been deemed irreparable.
The 75-foot-long boat split on one end in early April after being removed from the Whitewater Canal for its five-year inspection.
A structural engineer examined the boat at the request of the Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites and concluded the boat has reached the end of its usable life.
Disposal of the boat is scheduled to begin on Monday, May 9.
The Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites is continuing to find $7.6 million in funding to make the necessary repairs at the site, which would include the purchase of a new canal boat.
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