Inside the makeshift boatyard, John Frentzel carefully shaves the wood near the boat's bow. A pile of curled pieces of pine lies at his feet.

This is the first boat that John, 17, has built. The wood near the bow must be shaved to fit two pieces of wood together snugly.

"We're building a boat, and you don't really get a chance like that every day," John said.

John, of Grand Island, and about six other Buffalo-area teenagers are part of a new program run by the Maritime Institute and the Buffalo & Erie County Workforce Development Consortium.

In the end, the teenagers -- some experienced with carpentry, others complete novices -- will learn skills, and the Maritime Institute will get a usable replica, said Richard Butz, the program's coordinator and a Buffalo State College professor.

"As someone who has worked his entire life in education, I'm always looking for the biggest bang for your buck," Butz said. "Kids learn best, many times, when they don't know they're learning."

Every day since July 6, the teenagers have gone to the red garage at the Buffalo & Erie County Naval and Military Park on the waterfront to build a bateau, a boat about 25 to 30 feet long, used commonly in the 18th and 19th centuries.

As Americans explored westward, the bateau was easy to build, and many men knew how to build one. A builder could construct the boat quickly, using whatever wood was around. Lewis and Clark used bateaus 200 years ago to explore the Louisiana Territory.

 In Western New York, the bataeu made navigating the rivers and lakes easy, said Joe Bella, a Buffalo State College senior who is supervising the bateau's construction.

Even New York Gov. DeWitt Clinton used a bateau to explore the Erie Canal's proposed route.

"It is a regionally significant boat. It's part of the area's heritage," Bella said. "It's one of those blips in history that no one would know about if you didn't show them."

In the Naval Park garage, the teenagers began cutting the wood using patterns from the Maritime Institute. Enthusiasts at the institute already built a bateau and provided the teenagers with construction patterns.

The construction team used hook nails to put most of the boat together, just like carpenters in the 19th century would have used.

A hook nail has a regular head but has a blunt end. The nail is hammered into the wood and then the blunt end is bent down, hooking it into the wood.

During the course of the project, the teenagers' skills have increased significantly, Bella said. The tools now seem a little less foreign. And the work is ahead of schedule.

"Still, none of these kids have really worked with woods before, so it's impressive when you put it into that context," Bella said.

At the garage, John, the teenager standing in the pile of pine shavings, has the most woodworking experience. He took a construction class at BOCES. He has built an Adirondack chair, a stool, even a shed designed just like a miniature home.

The boat's construction has been more difficult but more enjoyable, he said.

"Whenever you do work that people are going to see, that you're going to see, you want to do a good job," John said.

The teenagers have about a week's worth of work left on the bateau. The boat's side and bottom are finished. All that's left is to put in the seats. A bateau could hold up to 15 people without cargo.

The finished boat might be used in the area's War of 1812 celebrations.

And when the work is finished, the boat will go into the water. Maybe for a race with the institute's other bateau. Or maybe they'll mount water-balloon cannons on the boats and go at it.

"I don't know exactly when it will go into the water, but you can't build a boat and not float it," Bella said.

View photos of the teens building the boat.

abrown@buffnews.comnull