Trustees

Eric Clark, President

Cody Hofstetter, Treasurer

Pete Burns

Ray Nichols

Andrew Chun

Laurie Kolano

Edward Noble

SPLASH Mission

SPLASH Mission: The ‘Steamboat Floating Classroom’ is an educational 501(c)(3) non-profit and provides an exciting and unique location for creative, environment-based learning on a real steamboat. While on board, students of all ages engage in clean-water ecology and gain an appreciation of steamboat technology, the history of the steamboat era, and the history of the Lambertville-New Hope area.  

Population served. The steamboat is used to educate (l) school classes, scout troops, 4-H clubs, summer camps and related educational groups, (2) disadvantaged and handicapped groups, (3) bus tours of senior citizens, religious and business groups, environmental and historical groups and (4) school teachers who come to the steamboat for a seminar in environmental education for state credit. The educational theme of this project is the role of the river in the lives of the 17,000,000 people in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania who drink water from the Delaware River (5% of the U.S. population).  

Description. Passengers enjoy a 58-foot stern wheeler that is large enough to hold up to 35 passengers and to allow water quality experiments as well as discussions, role playing and musical events. We expect this program to grow into a popular element in regional efforts to build public understanding and commitment to environmental conservation, public health, historic preservation, and sustainable community development.

Vessel History

The tale of SPLASH begins in Bucyrus, Ohio in the early 1970s, when Lee Gaeke, his son, and family friends decided to build the first sternwheeler completely constructed in Ohio in over 100 years. The hull was built in Cincinnati and the steam engines were cast right in Bucyrus, but Lee constructed everything else (except the boiler) himself. Upon completion, the vessel was trailered fifty miles from Tucker Marine in Bucyrus to Huron, Ohio (near Sandusky), where the owner’s granddaughter christened it the River Prince.  Read More >

About our Founder

The Delaware River Steamboat Floating Classroom is the realization of the dream of a stunningly remarkable man, Bart Hoebel.
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