Here is the Bateau and crew during the re-enactment Sept 11, 1999, on the Saranac River just below one of the bridges that the Americans prevented the British from crossing.

The plans for this  bateau  were provided by John Anson at the New York State Museum. The original prototype, called the Discovery, was built at Schoharie, NY, school district, presumably by students and shop instructors.  We made minor modifications, but stuck close to the plans. We got a lot of background advice from John and also Dale Henry at the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum at Basin Harbor, VT.

The builders of the Rooster (the figure on the bow) were Chris Booth, a modern sailor and local building contractor who provided us with a large indoor heated shop and tools; Travis Tucker, a skilled woodworker, sailor and an old hand with boats; Keith Herkalo, artist/craftsman and modern sailor; Don Craig, Craig Russell and Jack Barrette, all re-enactors, woodworkers and lovers of old boats.

Here's the list of crew, from left to right: Tim Schwartz, seated, our "nipper" and bailer; Don Craig, coxswain, standing; Keith Herkalo, lead oarsman, standing in red shirt; Vern Fairhead, seated; Victor Suthren, seated; Eren Carrigan, standing behind and pointing; Chris Booth, standing in front outside boat; and Katie Booth, seated,  and Harry Foster, behind the camera.

The boat is named the Rooster in honor of the fighting cock that Commodore Macdonough and the crew had on board the Saratoga during the battle - the legend is that he stood on the railing near the cannon and crowed loudly during the fighting.

The Rooster is 32 feet long with a 7 foot beam at the gunwale; lapstrake construction. The ribs and stems are red oak; planks and battens of white pine; oars and oar blocks of white ash, and the oar lock pins of locust; seven oar lock positions for versatility. And that's a hand-carved rooster head atop the bow stem.  The Rooster is fitted with a post in the bow deck to receive a swivel gun.

The boat will be housed this winter in a building on the Old Base (formerly US Army and then Air Force) - an old stone barracks that eventually will become our new interpretive center and museum. We're planning to fit the Rooster with a square-rigged sail and a swivel gun of our own.