Lovely museum that we stumbled upon when looking for somewhere to go one day whilst on holiday. The volunteers were so friendly and welcoming, pumped up the life boat so the children could sit in it and had a game of table football with us which the children loved. Fab place, lots of interest, we will certainly recommend to others :-)

Excellent! Helpful knowledgeable staff. Large number of craft with interesting histories. A lifeboat you can look around and into. Various videos of sailing and speedboat record attempts. Astonishing recent examples of racing yachts that no longer sit in the water, Inios and Land Rover sponsored; explanation of how the fins work. Can't remember their proper names. Excellent explanation of the Fesnel lens from a local lighthouse (now fitted with modern lamp(s). N. B. Place is draughty and I failed to wear an overcoat. Very large car park with a huge "Hammerhead" crane visible for miles, the construction and use of which is explained in the museum entrance . N. B. Check opening days.

Stumbled across this little gem of a boat museum by sheer accident. The exhibits were fascinating encompassing many decades of boating. The volunteers working there are to be admired. Their knowledge and stories told are fascinating and were most welcoming.

Amazing DOUBLE-MUSEUM linked by a 5 minute Chain-Ferry costing only a couple of £’s or so, which crosses the Medina river. It takes both cars, bikes and passengers. There is also a tiny passenger-only boat. WEST-COWES has the MUSEUM-SHED (with lots of awesome, real-life, big boats) and EAST-COWES has the MUSEUM-GALLERY (with many elegant, curiosity-cabinets full of Boaty-Things related to Isle of Wight history). Fab for ALL. Kids will have great fun and adults will be enthralled. Check opening times, Tuesday and Friday are good bets for both EAST & WEST. ( East Cowes gallery is open some Saturdays).

Run entirely by volunteers hence limited opening hours. Very knowledgeable guys on site on all aspects of wooden and elderly boats. Strongly recommend a visit if you are in the area when they are open.