Whether you’re a boating enthusiast yearning to set sail in your own hand-built canoe, or just want to feast your eyes on some of the world’s finest examples of boat building, a must for visitors to New Hampshire’s Lakes Region is a trip to the New Hampshire Boat Museum in Wolfeboro.
The museum, just a hop-skip from Lake Winnipesaukee, boasts some stellar examples of vintage mahogany boats from the heyday of boat building with a rotating display of runabouts, racing boats, sail boats, and canoes. In addition to one-of-a-kind boats, the premier manufacturers of fine watercraft are on display, including Chris-Craft, Garwood, Lyman, Dodge, Century, Hacker and Penn Yann. Informational displays with archival photos and models of boats are also featured at the museum.
If you’re handy with a hammer (or even if you’re not) and adventurous enough to want to build your own craft, check out the New Hampshire Boat Museum’s summer boat building program, which offers classes for kids, families and adults. You can fashion a one-person canoe, a one-person kayak or a 12-foot Bevin’s Skiff in the workshops. Afterward, launch your handmade craft on the crystalline waters of nearby Lake Winnipesaukee.
This year, the museum celebrates with grand opening festivities on May 27 and closes for the season on October 10.
