New Hampshire Boat Museum to open on June 29

WOLFEBORO — The New Hampshire Boat Museum is planning an exciting summer, beginning with its season opening on Saturday, June 29.

Highlights in 2019 include the museum's Vintage Boat and Car Auction in July and and the biennial Wolfeboro Vintage Race Boat Regatta, scheduled for September.

This past winter, the museum made improvements to its current structure while planning to build a new facility on the four-acre waterfront property it has purchased.

Executive Director Martha Cummings said the new roof on the current museum lays the groundwork for its future use as a boat building and restoration workshop center.

Programs this summer at the boat museum include Model Yacht Building, Youth, Family, and Adult Boat Building, Sailboat Sharing Program, and Community Sailing Program.

Staff also worked to develop the museum's featured exhibit, "Racing on Waterways of NH," for which Cummings expressed particular excitement.

“Racing on New Hampshire’s lakes is part of our history, and it still takes place today, too,” she said, explaining that the boat museum serves an important role in teaching people about the state's waterways while also letting people experience them.

One of those programs is the 45-minute tours on the Millie B, a 28-foot mahogany triple-cockpit “woodie” which is a replica 1928 Hacker-Craft, accurate down to seat colors. The Millie B recreates “the experience of the golden age of boating,” Cummings said.

Looking ahead at the season, Cummings said she expects the busiest season in the museum’s history, due to expanded programs and events within a condensed timeframe.

Founded in 1992 by vintage boating enthusiasts, the New Hampshire Boat Museum aims to provide an understanding of and appreciation for the boating heritage of New Hampshire. To learn more, visit NHBM.org.