Martin Nestor is from the Wooden Canal Boat Society in Ashton-under-Lyne
A National Lottery grant will be spent on preserving Tameside's "unique" heritage, it has been announced.
The Greater Manchester borough will share £200m with up to 20 other areas across the United Kingdom.
Tameside Council will now decide how to spend its share of the money.
One of the borough's best-loved heritage assets is the Portland Basin Museum in Ashton-under-Lyne, home to the Wooden Canal Boat Society (WCBS).
Eleanor Wills is leader of Tameside Council, which will decide how the money is spent
The Portland Basin Museum is housed within the restored 19th Century Ashton Canal Warehouse.
It attracted about 100,000 visitors in 2024.
The WCBS has six canal boats.
One of them, Hazel, was built in 1913 to carry salt but now provides "wellbeing trips" for people.
The WCBS received a previous National Lottery grant in 2014.
Engineer Martin Nestor, 60, said: "Restoring boats is a passion and it gives me a sense of purpose.
"They're all working boats and it gives me so much pleasure."
Eleanor Wills, leader of Tameside Council, said: "What we've got to do is take stock of the heritage we've got and how many more visitors we can have in places like the Portland Basin Museum.
"This is a really big opportunity for us in Tameside to connect people with their communities."
The Portland Basin Museum in Ashton-under-Lyne stands at the junction of three canals
The National Lottery Heritage Fund's Heritage Places scheme aims to better connect people with the past in the places they live, work and visit.
The fund's chief executive, Eilish McGuinness, said: "There are so many heritage treasures to be excited about.
"We are now in a supportive relationship with Tameside Council so we're trying to help them think about their heritage and work with their communities."
Eilish McGuinness is chief executive of the National Lottery Heritage Fund
There are more than 300 listed buildings in Tameside, including Ashton Town Hall, which was home to the Museum of the Manchester Regiment before it closed in 2015.
The museum's collection is now packed away in storage and it is hoped work can begin on restoring the historic building, which opened in 1840.
The town hall's roof has been repaired and Tameside Council has appointed architects to look at options for the building's future.
Ashton Town Hall was home to the Museum of the Manchester Regiment until its closure in 2015
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