A short ship is on its way to Rhode Island to become a Tall Ship.

A Newport group that wants the Ocean State to have its own Tall Ship has purchased a hull from Canada and is having it brought here to be built up into a three-masted replica of a 19th-century warship.

The nonprofit Tall Ships Rhode Island formally closed on the $339,000 acquisition this month and the hull has already begun a journey that will take it from Amherstburg, Ontario, across Lake Erie and through the New York State Canal System. It is due to arrive in Rhode Island sometime next month, trailing behind the Toronto-based tugboat that will tow it here.

The local group plans to turn the hull into a 207-foot square-sailed Tall Ship named the Oliver Hazard Perry. Perry, who was born in Rhode Island and lived in Newport, was a Navy commodore who led the U.S. fleet to a key victory on Lake Erie during the War of 1812. During the battle, he captured the HMS Detroit. The Canadian group built the hull for a planned replica of the Detroit, before having to abandon the project due to lack of support.

Now the Newport-based group is planning to raise $4 million for skilled boatbuilders in Rhode Island to finish the job. Acquiring the hull, instead of designing and building a new one, has put the organization two years ahead of schedule and saved it more than $1 million, it says. But there is still much to do.

“For perspective on the magnitude of the project, there are six to seven miles of rigging needed for the ship, which when completed will stand more than 13 stories tall. It will be a work in progress on the waterfront for the public, including schoolchildren, to enjoy and marine industry to rally behind,” Perry Lewis, vice chairman of Tall Ships Rhode Island, said in a statement.

The hull will initially be berthed at Bowen’s Wharf, which is owned by Bartlett Dunbar, vice chairman of Tall Ships Rhode Island. Once design work is completed, it will be brought to Blount Boats in Warren, where a deck will be installed and interior work completed. The vessel will return to Newport for its spars, rigging and hardware. The goal is to have the Oliver Hazard Perry sailing by 2010.

“The ship’s business plan includes giving opportunities to young people who otherwise might never get on the water, much less experience an ocean voyage or the benefit gained from a managed onboard educational program,” said Dunbar.

“It also includes engaging our community’s waterfront-related organizations in every step of the ship’s development, and showcasing and supporting the marine trades that have become so vital to our state’s economy.”

rsalit@projo.com