Boat Hall

Your voyage of discovery begins in the Boat Hall. Here you can orientate yourself in the building, admiring the hanging flotilla of small boats on display over your head.

The variety of boats around the world is staggering. From earliest times people have built rafts and logboats using whatever material was available, and have powered them by muscle, wind or engine. They are shaped by the people who make and use them and are used for working, fishing, rescue, ceremony, transporting people and goods. Each boat reflects its heritage.

Seek out the Ednamair, the tiny dinghy in which the Robertson family – five people and a friend – survived for 38 days in the Pacific after their yacht had been holed. This is one of the great ocean survival stories of modern times.

Flying across the top of the Boat Hall is our flotilla of small boats from The National Small Boat collection. Preserving a collection of international importance, including craft used for survival, work, competition, leisure, pleasure, exploration and war… from the Inuit kayak, a deadly hunter’s tool of skin and driftwood with an unbroken pedigree stretching back 10,000 years to the Mirror dinghy, as much a part of the ’60s social revolution as the Mini car.  The museum doesn’t just tell the story of inanimate objects – it relates the tales of the lives and the times of those who made and used them.

See what else is here