The re-created Amistad was built using traditional skills and construction techniques common to wooden schooners built in the 19th Century. Some of the tools used in the project were the same as those that might have been used by a 19th Century shipwright while others were electrically powered. Tri-Coastal Marine, designers of the re-created Freedom Schooner Amistad, used modern computer technology to provide plans for the vessel, bronze bolts are used as fastenings throughout the ship, and the modern Amistad has an external ballast keel made of lead. Amistad has two Caterpillar diesel engines. None of this technology was available to 19th Century builders.