At $3,000, it cost less than a used Geo - and it carries a lot more people. In an ambitious project that brought together the Herkimer BOCES, some Mohawk Valley teacher centers and a not-for-profit foundation, a 35-year-old former Coast Guard buoy tender has been reborn as a floating classroom on the Erie Canal.

Owned, refitted and largely maintained by Herkimer BOCES, the 46-foot vessel is giving elementary students - and other interested groups - an up-close look at the waterway that changed New York forever. It's now in its second season, shuttling mainly between historic sites in Herkimer and Oneida counties from its berth at Little Falls.

With a new fifth-grade social studies test coming up in November, most of the groups are fourth- and fifth-graders from Herkimer and Oneida counties, although anyone can book a trip.

Many students have been prepping for the voyage - and the upcoming test - through "learning experiences" developed by teachers and teacher centers throughout the Mohawk Valley.

A trip on the canal, through one of its most impressive locks and then on to the historic canalside home of Revolutionary War hero Gen. Nicholas Herkimer, helps bring life to what students have been learning in class.

"One of the goals is to teach kids to answer Document-Based Questions," said Patrick Peterson, director of the Holland Patent Teaching & Learning Center. "The boat trip is the culmination of all their preparation. I see it as a reward for their hard work on DBQs."

Using a grant the Holland Patent center received from the State Archives and Records Administration, Marie Oastler worked with Carolyn Berwald of the Utica Teachers Association to develop a DBQ that deals with tools used to build the canal.

"There has been a lot of involvement in the project from a lot of teachers and teacher centers," said Oastler, a member of the New Hartford TA who teaches fourth grade.

Teachers worked with BOCES and the foundation to stock a "captain's chest" of canal-related resources that participating classes can borrow, including a teacher's guide, maps, photos, videos, old newspapers and audio cassettes of canal songs.

How it began

Looking for a way to harness the educational value of the canal and its role in New York's history, Paul Preuss arranged to buy the government surplus vessel two years ago while working as a Herkimer BOCES administrator.

Now retired, he still heads the Erie Canal School Boat Foundation, which he set up to help raise funds, promote the boat, and work with teachers and community groups.

"Paul kept talking about it and eventually it went from his vision to a reality," said Craig Miller, a member of Herkimer BOCES TA who teaches automotive technology and pilots the vessel to and from its winter drydock.

Although well-maintained by the Coast Guard, the boat required extensive refitting to serve groups of students and other passengers. That included removing a winch that had been used to hoist buoys out of Long Island Sound, adding a PA system, fitting the deck with a canvas canopy and making the vessel handicap-accessible.

It now carries 40 passengers, a teacher, a licensed captain and a mate.

"There are a lot of ways we can help with this valuable project," said Herkimer BOCES TA President Gary Rathbone. Welding instructor Bob McGough and his students tackled metalworking alterations and fashioned a safety rail to enclose the deck.

"It turns out that some of the finest welders in the area had been trained by BOCES," said Karen Pelletier, Herkimer BOCES enrichment program coordinator, "and we have them on staff."

- John Strachan

For info

Related lessons and support materials are available from teacher centers at Holland Patent, (315) 865-7226, and Mohawk Valley, (315) 867-2097.

Also check these Web sites:

• A sample DBQ for grades 4­8 is available from the state archives at www.archives.nysed.gov:80/services/teachers/cts/erie.htm.

• www.nysha.org contains DBQs from the New York State Historical Association.

• The Web site of the foundation, www.schoolboat.org, is being upgraded and may be temporarily unavailable.

Herkimer BOCES is already booking trips for Spring 2002, but there are still open dates available for the rest of the current school year and into the fall.

The Barge Canal system is generally open from early May to November; dress appropriately.

Prices vary, depending on the group and itinerary. Call (315) 867-2088.

The Herkimer BOCES owns this floating classroom on the Erie Canal.