New Hampshire Boat Museum

The New Hampshire Boat Museum (NHBM) is much more than a museum. We are an experiential center that focuses on learning through doing by offering a plethora of hands-on programs and events. Mission: To inspire an enduring connection, stewardship, and appreciation of the boating heritage of New Hampshire’s fresh waterways through compelling exhibits, experiences, and educational programs.

NHBM was founded in 1992 by a group of antique and classic boating enthusiasts who wanted preserve and share the boating heritage on New Hampshire’s fresh waterways. Originally the Museum was called the “New Hampshire Antique and Classic Boat Museum” and then modified in order to better reflect the Museum’s mission.  After moving around Lake Winnipesaukee for a few years, in 2000 NHBM found its home for the past 22 years in Wolfeboro in the former Allen “A” Resort theater and dance hall.  However, NHBM has recently expanded. In 2022, following a multi-year capital campaign, NHBM purchased a 24,000 square foot building in Moultonborough to expand operations. The Museum’s headquarters will transition to Moultonborough in late 2023 following renovations on this year-round, climate controlled building. The Wolfeboro campus will continue to host its many programs during the summer seasons. 

Visitors can enjoy seeing a variety of boats, motors, and boating ephemera on display within the Museum, along with hands-on activities for children and families.Everyone can also experience the thrill of cruising in one of NHBM’s two replica vintage boats. They are each 1928-style Hacker Craft mahogany triple cockpits, the Millie B and the Miss Lauren. 

NHBM offers core educational programs that include boat building classes for adults, families, and youth; community sailing for youth and adults in partnership with Wolfeboro Parks and Recreation; model yachting with the Back Bay Skippers and model yacht kit building classes (remote-controlled model sailboats); Lake Discovery Days for elementary school-aged children; boating safety classes, and more. The Museum also hosts the annual Alton Bay Boat show and the biennial Vintage Race Boat Regatta, plus the annual New England Vintage Boat & Car Auction, the Museum’s major fundraising event. Each program and event offers an enjoyable opportunity to garner further appreciation for our boating heritage and the unique role New Hampshire’s lakes play in people’s lives down through the ages.