When officials of the Pittsburgh Voyager organization set out to construct a new flagship vessel, they decided to design it like a building -- a "green" building.

So the 90-foot, 150-passenger boat not only will have a hybrid diesel-electric propulsion system, but will include "green" materials, such as particle board made out of wheat stalks, use environmentally friendly equipment such as waterless urinals, and burn low-polluting biodiesel fuel.

The environmental education organization yesterday released more details about its as-yet-unnamed boat at a news conference and announced a $6 million fund-raising campaign to pay for its construction and the organization's ongoing operations.

The boat itself will cost about $3 million and is now being built in Freeport, Fla. Howard S. "Chip" Berger, chairman of the Voyager board, said $3.6 million has been raised thus far, including a lead gift of $1 million from the Heinz Endowments.

The campaign will include a public phase, set to kick off in January, with a goal of raising $750,000 in donations from individuals.

The organization now uses two 80-foot former U.S. Navy craft and a 44-foot houseboat for its river-based learning programs. Karl A. Thomas, executive director, said the half-century-old Navy vessels are "wonderful old boats" but their technology contributes to air and water pollution.

"This is not the platform for us to be on for the long-term," he said. One of the old "yard boats" will be sold after the new boat begins operating on the Three Rivers next summer.

The new boat will be propelled by electric motors, powered by batteries that can be recharged dockside from the power grid. It will operate for up to an hour on battery power alone and then can use onboard diesel generators to produce electricity.

The vessel was designed using the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, process used in the design of many "green" buildings locally, including the David L. Lawrence Convention Center.

No LEED certification standard exists for boats, Mr. Thomas said, but the organization will seek certification of the entire boat nonetheless. At a minimum, it should meet LEED certification standards for commercial interiors, he added.