Canal boat written off after shocking Whitchurch collapse after being pulled from the breach - but other two boats are back on the water
One of the boats swallowed by the Whitchurch canal collapse has been written off, it has been revealed.
The news, regarding Sefton, one of two boats which descended into the breach, was confirmed by the canal vloggers Paul and Anthony Smith-Storey, who run Narrowboat Life Unlocked, in their latest video.
Sefton, owned by Bob Wood, was pulled from the breach last month in a major operation organised after the shocking collapse in the early hours of December 22.
Sefton and another boat, Ganymede, were left at the bottom of the giant chasm, while another, Pacemaker was left teetering on the edge.
All three boats have since been recovered with mixed fortunes.
Pacemaker is back on the water, while Ganymede is expected to be back on the waterways soon. But it appears the damage caused to Sefton has left its owners with no option but to write it off.
A fundraiser organised by Paul and Anthony raised more than £100,000 to be split between the owners of the three affected boats, after they were left homeless and with no certainty over the future.
Speaking in their latest video Paul explained the situation regarding Sefton and its future.
He said: "With regards to the three boats caught up in the breach, we know that Pacemaker, Paul's boat is out of the water, it has been lifted out of the water, it has been re-blacked, it has had all the checks done and it is now back in the water, so I bet Paul and his partner are just relieved they can carry on and get some sort of normality back.
"We have also been speaking to Flek and Anita, their boat has been lifted out of the water, that has been re-blacked and it is having checks done, they are hoping to be back in the water very soon so we will let you know what happens with them.
"We had a conversation this morning with Bob and Rosemary off narrowboat Sefton, and that was the first one that went into the breach, and that is why I was so emotional, we were both so emotional on the day, because we knew Bob, he's a lovely guy and we couldn't believe that was his boat down there.
"There has been a lot of speculation as to whether the boat is going to be written off or not and the conversation we had today, they drove up from Kent this week to see the boat for the first time since the actual breach, which happened just before Christmas, and they had a sort of five per cent hope that they could fix the boat with the insurance and the gofundme and get back to cruising, but he said as soon as they walked onto the boat that just went because it is just full of mud.
"All their belongings they have collected over the past eight years are just ruined, the interior of the boat is just wrote off. And he said the smell of diesel and mud stayed with him for three days, so obviously they were upset about that, and Sefton, that's it, is no more."
Meanwhile Paul Stowe the owner of Pacemaker, has published his own social media update on the boat, which had been the full-time home with his wife, son, and two cats prior to the disaster.
The artist said the boat is back on the waterways, and thanked a host of people for their help during the weeks following the breach.
He said: "Since we removed our home from the canal it has been in the workshop receiving some well deserved TLC - unfortunately weather and paint shop time has made it impossible to repair all of the damage caused by the rescue operation, but it is time for us to leave the confines of the marina and head back onto the canal network.
"The structural and mechanical checks and repairs are complete and we have tested NB Pacemaker out on a short run up to Audlem and back (a 10min trip!)."
In a lengthy post he thanked a host of people for their support, adding: "Finally to the thousands of people who donated to the GoFundMe campaign, without whom we would not have been able to get our home back on the water.
"We were blown away by your kindness and generosity, it is something we will never forget. Without the money raised and in lieu of any other financial support from organisations which may have felt responsible for what had happened our home and lives would have been (again almost literally) sunk!"
