METAMORA, IN — Officials at the Whitewater Canal State Historic Site said the Ben Franklin III Canal Boat, which ran in the canal at Metamora for 33 years, is considered irreparable.
The boat cracked and fell apart when it was removed from the canal on April 11 for its five-year inspection.
A structural engineer examined the 75-foot-long boat and determined that the vessel has reached the end of its life.
The Ben Franklin III has been located at the historic site administration building since it was moved.
The process of disposing of the boat is scheduled to begin Monday, May 9, and is expected to take two days to complete – weather and schedules permitting.
The Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites is trying to come up with $7.6 million to fund a new canal boat and make necessary improvements at the Metamora site.
The boat, which is made of wood and fiberglass, began operating in 1989 but has been out of operation since the end of the 2019 season. It did not operate in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The original Ben Franklin Canal Boat first hit the water in the 1840s.
The Ben Franklin II was used by the State of Indiana beginning in 1980 to give visitors to Metamora a feeling of what canal life was like.
