Onlookers witnessed a John Deere tractor lift a 30 foot wooden boat on to the back of a 50 foot flatbed truck. After many minutes spent to secure the bateau, the truck drove down Victoria Street, out of Niagara-on-the-Lake towards the highway where the bateau will see new life in Kingston.

Much of the life of the bateau has been spent at Fort George where it was constructed. Now, the boat will find a new home in Kingston where it'll be used in various naval reenactments.

"Back in the day, this type of vessel would carry 30 families down the St. Lawrence River to their new homes in Upper Canada," said David Smith, director of the United Empire Loyalist Park in Kingston, the site of the reenactments. "There were great discussion about bringing this bateau to Kingston and we're very exited to have it."

The idea to build the bateau started after Fort George's Simcoe Years celebrations 1992-1996. Erika Alexander, executive director of the Friends of Fort George, said the group wanted to build a small scale tall ship that would be easy to build, store and sail.

The original intention was to have the bateau stay in a dock for visitor's viewing pleasure, said volunteer Larry Turner, who helped craft the ship from scratch. Using plans drawn up by Parks Canada, the plan was to create a replica ship similar to those used during the War of 1812.

At the fort's artificer shop, volunteers spent more than 10 years constructing the bateau in front of the eyes of visitors.

"While the process slowed down a bit, it was fun to explain to visitors what we were doing and the skills behind building the ship," said Turner.

"We started with a large group of volunteers devoting their time to it. But over time, it came down to a few people. I spent many hours working on this ship."

The bateau was constructed out of wood planks. Turner said the main frame of the ship was constructed first, and the planks would be curved around the ship to create its form.

The cracks in between each planks was stuffed with cotton batting so when moistened by water, the material would expand and create a waterproof seal, Turner said.

"By 2007 we had finished the boat," Turner said. "By this time it was very time consuming to maintain the boat. That is when we put out the call for offers on it and someone accepted."

Turner said it was a little sad to see the vessel go, but when asked if he would help construct another boat, he said he would do it in a heart beat.