THE ERIE BOAT PROJECT

The Erie Boat was the indigenous, nineteenth century fishing boat common along the south shore of Lake Erie. This vessel is twenty-eight feet long with two masts and a retractable centerboard.

History tells us that during this period Erie was on her way to become the freshwater fishing capital of the world. The Erie Boat was the vehicle that men used to work the pound and trap nets along the Lake Erie shoreline. It was said that the blue pike were so plentiful that, "you could walk from Erie to Canada on their backs." And it was on their backs that Erie's economy was built and the young town's prominence as a significant Great Lake port grew. 

The plans for the Erie Boat came from Howard I. Chapelle's, American Small Sailing Craft. Chapelle is recognized as the dean of indigenous watercraft and described the Erie Boat, "as the product of two or three builders at Erie and built nowhere else."

The Erie Boat Project creates an important, educational link with Erie's maritime past while reinforcing environmental lessons critical to our community's future. Through hands-on, on the water and shore side activities, students will gain a real understanding of what life was like as a nineteenth century Great Lakes fisherman. Students will set sail and haul nets, chart their course, catch and identify various species of Lake Erie fish and study the Presque Isle Bay ecosystem.

Millcreek Township School District students in the BCMS Boatshop.

Pelican Project: The building jig for the Pelican is completed and the students have the keelson and transom knees in place. Work is continuing on the chines, transoms, and scarphing sheets of plywood for the sides and bottom.
Canoe Restoration Project: We are currently restoring two B. N. Morris canoes, an Old Town Squareback, an Old Town canoe, and a very old, unidentified cedar and canvas canoe. We have installed steam bent frames, nailed planking, and stretched and sealed new canvas on several boats already this winter. We are installing sailing rigs on two of these canoes and have beautiful new sails donated by our local sailmaker, David Bierig.

ICE BOAT PROJECT

Students at the Bayfront Center For Maritime Studies have been building the Bellport Frostfish iceboat. This is a Scooter type boat that has no steering skate but is steered with sail trim and by shifting crew weight fore and aft. The design evolved as a winter hunting, fishing and rescue boat in the Great South Bay on the New Jersey shore.

March 2007 brought ideal conditions for iceboating; smooth ice and cold temperatures provided several days of smooth ice boating for the MTSD students