The Canal Centre is closed

Public boat trips have now finished for the 2024 season. 

However, our boats are available to hire all year round.

Click here for boat hire

Victoria’s Half-Century Refit 2024/5

Help us make our flagship Victoria a more carbon-friendly and quieter boat.

LUCS’s flagship, Victoria, was built in 1972 and acquired by LUCS in 1978. Since then, she has had two major refits in 1991 and 2001. During the 2001 refit she was fitted with her current 3-cylinder Kubota diesel engine

Victoria is now due another refit. With advances in battery technology, it is now possible to replace her aging diesel engine with an electric motor without restricting her movements.

This offers significant long-term advantages as Victoria would then have no carbon or particulate emissions and be a silent boat enabling the skipper to talk to customers. This also offers improved reliability, reduced maintenance and a clean bilge.

As this will be an expensive project, LUCS is making an appeal to raise the required funds for the Society to start this work in October so that Victoria will be re-launched as an electric boat in LUCS’s 50th anniversary year.

Contributions to this appeal would be gratefully received and can be made by scanning this QR code.

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