Wherever there are ships on display, recreational mariners invariably follow. From wooden steamers and tugboats to naval ships and fishing boats, Puget Sound and its vessels are inseparable. Maritime museums are inexpensive—many have free admission—and they are an enjoyable way to discover some of Puget Sound’s rich nautical history. During our travels up and down Puget Sound over the years we have had the opportunity to visit many of them.
The following are just a few of Puget Sound’s maritime museums. To make the list, the venues had to be located within walking distance of moorage, dedicated in part to maritime history or dedicated to area history that relied on the sea; and had to be of interest to boaters.
They offer more than a peek into Puget Sound’s rich maritime history. They offer visitors hands-on activities and exploration, the chance to witness restoration and new boat construction or the opportunity to step into the control room of a nuclear attack submarine. Check out each museum’s website to plan a trip the entire crew will enjoy.
Warning: It is easy to spend hours viewing the exhibits at any of these excellent venues without realizing it. Make a maritime museum part of your next cruise and witness some of Puget Sound’s rich maritime history.
1. Bainbridge Island Historical Museum
Founded in 1971, the Bainbridge Island Historical Museum maintains and displays passenger steamboat artifacts, photos, music, recordings of steamer captains, ships’ whistles and horns from early Puget Sound Passenger vessel fleets, small boats and shipbuilding.
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- Admission: Free
- Hours: 10:00 – 16:00 Wednesday to Sunday plus Mondays during summer
- Website: bainbridgehistory.org
- Nearest moorage: Winslow Wharf Marina in Eagle Harbor (winslowwharf.com). There is no designated guest moorage, but the harbour master will assign empty permanent moorage to visitors. Reservations are recommended.
2. Coast Guard Museum Northwest
The Coast Guard Museum on Seattle’s waterfront has several exhibits that include nautical items, ship models, Coast Guard memorabilia and more than 15,000 photos dating from the mid-1800s. Extensive periodicals and research materials are also available. Several exquisitely crafted large models include Coast Guard cutters, the ship’s bell from the steamship Roosevelt and one of Admiral Peary’s ships from his 1908 quest for the North Pole. This is also home for the largest public collection of Coast Guard patches. Also displayed is part of “Old Ironsides,” USS Constitution and items from the German trawler Externsteine captured by Eastwind off Greenland during the Second World War.
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- Admission: Free
- Hours: 09:00 –14:00 Monday, Wednesday and Friday
- Website: coastguardmuseumseattle.org
- Nearest moorage: Bell Harbor Marina (portseattle.org). Reservations recommended. Moorage is available for boats to 150 feet. Also located nearby are the Pike Place Market, Seattle Aquarium, shops, eateries and professional sporting events at Safeco Field and CenturyLink Field.
3. Edmonds Historical Museum
The museum is housed in the beautifully restored 1910 Carnegie Library building in the heart of the seaside community of Edmonds. Visitors will see a reconstructed room from the 1891 Stevens Hotel, a restored jail cell from when the building served as City Hall, a working model of a shingle mill (representative of the mills that once filled the waterfront at the turn of the century) a maritime room and an HO gauge train layout.
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- Admission: Suggested donations $5/adults, $10/families
- Hours: 13:00 – 16:00 Thursday and Friday, 09:00 – 14:00 Saturdays
- Website: historicedmonds.org
- Nearest Moorage: Port of Edmonds (portofedmonds.org). Reservations suggested. Edmonds also offers plenty of services and attaractions.
4. Foss Waterway Seaport
This venue, and it is truly a venue, is operated by the non-profit organization Foss Waterway Seaport. Located at the foot of Tacoma’s downtown core along the Thea Foss Waterway, it offers visitors a view of Tacoma’s rich maritime past, present and future. Visitors will see maritime artifacts and historic small watercraft, watch boat restoration and new boat construction, participate in hands-on activities for all ages, enjoy lectures about local maritime history and take part in one of many special events and visiting exhibits.
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- Admission: Free
- Hours: 10:00 – 16:00 Thursday – Sunday
Open late every third Thursday of the month (10:00 – 20:00) with free admission - Website: fosswaterwayseaport.org
- Nearest moorage: Foss Water Seaport. Free guest moorage is available along 1,200 feet of float. No reservations and four-hour limit. Another option is Foss Harbor Marina (fossharbormarina.com). Reservations suggested. Visitor moorage is in unoccupied slips as available.
5. Harbor History Museum
In Gig Harbor at the Harbor History Museum you will find top-rate exhibitions, larger than life experiences and lots of opportunities for hands-on exploration of the region’s rich history. Artifacts, video kiosks, computer interactives and a small theatre bring peninsula history to life in permanent galleries. In addition, the museum provides three to five special exhibits throughout the year.
On display is the 65-foot wooden purse seiner Shenandoah, a reminder of days gone by. The one-room Midway Schoolhouse has also been restored to teach students the history of the Gig Harbor Peninsula through museum-in-the-classroom visits.
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- Admission: Free
- Hours 11:00 –16:00 Wednesday – Saturday
- Website: harborhistorymuseum.org
- Nearest moorage: Arabella’s Landing (arabellaslanding.com). Reservations recommended. Guest moorage available along 225 feet of dock, six 50-foot slips and two 60-foot slips. The marina is also within easy walking to shopping, restaurants and services.
6. Naval Undersea Museum
The Naval Undersea Museum located in Keyport, combines marine science, naval history and undersea technology to create an exciting experience. Guests are invited to visit the ocean world and dive into the science of the undersea without getting wet.
Visitors can view a simulated control room from the nuclear fast attack submarine Greenling, including equipment such as periscopes, the ship control panel and the ballast control panel. Artifacts on display include US torpedoes, a Confederate mine from the Civil War and tubes from the ballistic missile submarine USS Tecumseh.
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- Admission: Free
- Hours: 10:00 – 16:00 Wednesday to Monday
- Website: navalunderseamuseum.org
- Nearest moorage: Keyport Marina (portofkeyport.com). Three hours free moorage and $1 per foot per night. Limit three nights. Power and water included.
7. Pouslbo Maritime Museum
This venue showcases the maritime history of the small Scandinavian community of Poulsbo and the North Kitsap Peninsula. Exhibits and interactive displays invite museum visitors to explore the area’s diverse history.
At the head of the pier is the museum’s centerpiece, a 7/8-scale replica of the steamer Hyak’s wheelhouse. The wooden-hulled steamer operated from 1911 to 1936 as a member of the Puget Sound’s “mosquito fleet.” From the captain’s wheel it offers a view of Liberty Bay, making it easy to imagine being the pilot of the steamer as she leaves the port heading for Seattle.
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- Admission: Free, donations accepted
- Hours: 10:00 – 16:00 daily
Open until 17:00 June, July, August - Website: poulsbohistory.com
- Nearest Moorage: Poulsbo Marina (portofpoulsbo.com). Reservations suggested. The marina is also close to shopping, restaurants and services.
8. Skanie Brothers Netshed
For nearly 150 years at the end of each fishing season Gig Harbor’s commercial fishermen would rinse their nets and hang them to dry in structures called “netsheds.” These simple, over the water, wooden buildings provided easy access to their fishing boats and dry storage for their gear. They also served as a gathering place for skippers, crew and their families. In most cases, the name of each netshed represented the family historically associated with the site.
The largest inventory of netsheds throughout Puget Sound is in Gig Harbor. Today 17 remain, with seven still in use by the harbour’s remaining commercial fleet of about 30 vessels. Like the fishing boats themselves, netsheds are an iconic reminder of Gig Harbor’s early Croatian immigrants who settled along the waterfront. The Skansie Brothers Netshed is open to viewing to provide a glimpse into the heritage and traditions of the area’s commercial fishing families.
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- Admission: Free, accepts donations
- Website: skansiebrothersnetshed.com
- Hours: 11:00 – 16:00 Saturday and Sunday, June – September
Also Thursday 13:00 – 18:00 during Farmers Market at the Park - Nearest moorage: Jerisich Dock (gigharborwa.gov). The docks offer 420 feet of first-come-first-served side-tie in the middle of Gig Harbor’s waterfront located next to Skansie Brothers Park and Netshed.
9. USS Turner Joy Museum
The USS Turner Joy, famed Navy destroyer from the Vietnam War, is now moored, maintained and administered by the Bremerton Historic Ships Association. The museum ship and memorial honours not only the men and women of the modern US Navy but also recognizes the accomplishments of those who helped build and maintain the Navy’s fleet. An active and educational facility, USS Turner Joy contributes a unique legacy to Puget Sound’s maritime heritage.
The USS Turner Joy was the last Forrest Sherman class destroyer built. While some of these ships were later converted to guided missile destroyers, the Turner Joy remains close to her original 1959 configuration. The destroyer has been restored to reflect the appearance during her active years between 1960 and 1982.
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- Admission: Adults: 22, Youth (13-17): $17 and Children (5-12): $15
- Hours: 10:00 – 17:00 daily, March – October.
10:00-16:00, November – February - Website: ussturnerjoy.org
- Nearest moorage: Bremerton Marina (portofbremerton.org), moorage in 80 slips and 990 feet of side-tie dock space. The marina is a short walk to shopping, restaurants and services.
10. W.T. Preston Sternwheeler
Located in Anacortes is a museum dedicated to the Puget Sound snagboats and their history. The centrepiece of the Snagboat Heritage Center is the 163-foot W.T. Preston, the last working sternwheeler on the sound and one of only two snagboats remaining in the contiguous United States. Built in 1929, powered by steam and a paddlewheel 18 feet wide and 17 feet in diameter, she cleared and maintained Puget Sound’s navigable waterways from the Canadian border south to Olympia. The Snagboat Heritage Center and W.T. Preston were designated a National Historic Landmark in 1989.
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- Admission: $5
- Hours: 10:00 – 16:00 Thursday – Saturday,
11:00 – 16:00 on Sundays, June – August
Open weekends only April, May, September, October - Website: museum.cityofanacortes.org
- Nearest moorage: Cap Sante Marina (portofanacortes.com). Reservations recommended. Guest moorage is available for boats to 130 feet. The marina is in the heart of downtown Anacortes with its many excellent restaurants and grocery stores within walking distance.