Bateau

A bateau (plural “bateaux”) is a wooden riverboat used to move people and supplies down river during log drives. Bateaux had flat bottoms, flared sides, and log, narrow bows and sterns. This design provided drivers a stable platform to work from, and allowed a bateau to be precisely maneuvered in challenging whitewater. Most commonly, six men operated a bateau. Four men rowed, and the bowman and the sternsman guided the bateau. The sternsman was normally the crew foreman.

Bateaux were the “utility trucks” of the Eighteenth Century, and allowed travel and the transport of goods into areas where no roads existed. Gen. George Washington and his troops crossed the Delaware River in bateaus, and the ill-fated Arnold Expedition, led by Gen. Benedict Arnold, used bateaux to move their troops and supplies to Québec City.

Here is the newly built bateau, which was launched at Leonard's Mills
Saturday, July 16th, 2005!