WASHINGTON CROSSING, Pa. (AP) - George Washington and his troops' annual Christmas Day trip across the Delaware River has been saved by a nonprofit organization.

Organizers had feared the crossing would have to be canceled because low water levels in the river between Pennsylvania and New Jersey would have made it impossible for re-enactors to navigate their wooden Durham boats.

But Philadelphia Waterborne, a nonprofit that teaches boat-building skills to middle- and high-school students, is lending the organizers six handmade, 12-foot rowboats. The boats only draw about six inches of water, meaning they can get across the river under current conditions.

The river's water level needs to be at least 9 feet above sea level to use the Durham boats, and recent water levels have been around 8.3 feet. Organizers had said a "pretty significant amount" of precipitation would be needed to raise the river's water levels in time for the event.

The crossing - which was the trek that turned the tide of the Revolutionary War - is the highlight of the annual event that draws thousands of people to the banks of the river in Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania, and Titusville, New Jersey. It also features Washington rallying the troops and other historical speeches and processions

Boats ferried 2,400 soldiers, 200 horses and 18 cannons across the river during the original crossing. Washington's troops marched eight miles downriver before battling Hessian mercenaries in the streets of Trenton.

Thirty Hessians were killed, and two Continental soldiers froze to death on the march.

Organizers note there's plenty of historical authenticity to this unique reenactment. They note that while Durham boats were used in the original 1776 crossing, historians agree that Washington probably used various river craft to make his daring crossing.

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.