Center for Wooden Boats, Maritime museum in South Lake Union, Seattle, US
The Center for Wooden Boats is a maritime museum at Lake Union Park in Seattle with a collection of around 170 vessels, including sailboats and rowboats of various sizes. The site features gallery spaces, workshops, and boat moorings directly on the water where the vessels are kept.
The museum was founded in the 1970s and grew into a major institution for preserving the region's boat-building culture. Over the decades, the collection and programs expanded through additional facilities and locations.
The center's rental fleet is built around the 20-foot Blanchard Junior Knockabout, designed and built at the Blanchard Boat Company on Lake Union; the center owns eight of them, used for teaching and rentals. The livery fleet also offers daysailers, rowboats and two pedal boats.
The South Lake Union campus sits in Lake Union Park, with the Northlake Workshop & Warehouse at the north end of Lake Union. The Cama Beach State Park site on Camano Island closed in October 2024 because of park infrastructure issues, so check which location you are heading to before setting out.
The museum allows visitors to actually sail and row in some of the historic boats rather than just viewing them from shore. This makes it one of the few places where you can experience old sailing traditions firsthand through your own hands and senses.
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