Susan M. Sipprelle of New Jersey writes with news from New York City: "A gleaming 14' Whitehall floated lightly for the first time on the Harlem River in northern Manhattan in late May as its teen-aged builders cheered and hollered. The Whitehall builders - who had never been out on the water before - were students from Intermediate Schools 90 and 218, teenagers from a community service organization called Fresh Youth Initiatives, and Urban Park Rangers from the High School for Environmental Studies.

The rangers contributed the boat's name, SHORAKAPOC, a Native American word for northern Manhattan. Their boat was a school-year program of the New York Restoration Project, founded by singer and actress Bette Midler.

The Whitehall - and two 7'7" Nutshell prams to be built this summer by 30 students from the Liberty Partnerships Program at Bank Street College - will join the nonprofit organization's flotilla at its new Peter Jay Sharp Boathouse, which is built on a barge moored in the Harlem River.

The program is intended to restore recreational boating to the river, and even rowing shells will be stored there starting this fall. The students learn not only woodworking skills but also teamwork, environmental awareness, and maritime history.

The boatbuilding instructor is Jeff Weber, a boatbuilder and printmaker originally from Cape Cod.

SHORAKAPOC's hull is glued-lapstrake plywood, with mahogany for the stem, keel, and transom. The steam-bent frames are of green white oak from New Jersey. Wood for her floorboards, thwarts, and oars was recycled from New York City park benches.

"The first question the kids always ask,' Weber said, 'is 'Can we use the boat when it's done?'"

On the afternoon of SHORAKOPAC's launching, the teenagers who built her clamored for the chance to row. As they took turns in the boat, they joked about saying their prayers, sharks in the water, and the river's depth. Some gripped the boat's sides tightly when they first felt a boat rock under them. But when the boat steadied, they relaxed and rowed on the Harlem River beneath high-rise apartment buildings, SHORAKAPOC's American flag fluttering behind them."

New York Restoration Project, 31 West 56th St., New York, NY 10019; 212-333-2552; <www.nyrp.org>