Scotland's museum of ships, boats, boatbuilding,
engineering and maritime heritage, collecting, preserving and
interpreting Scottish maritime history.
There are three sites on Irvine's harbourside, In the
Boatshop are exhibitions, ship models and a research area, as well
as the museum shop. Guided tours start here throughout the day. You
can also visit Scotland's "Cathedral to Engineering", the Linthouse
Engine Shop, built in 1872, where you can explore much of the
Museum's collection inside, including shipbuilding machinery and
machine tools, smaller boats, canoes, lifeboats, and much more. On
a tour you can also visit the shipyard workers" tenement flat,
restored to its pre-1920s appearance. The museum has a collection
of floating vessels - the museum pontoons are currently closed for
health and safety reasons.
Puffer's Coffee shop on the wharf is open all year, for
coffee, lunches and delicious cakes.
The museum also another site: The Denny Ship Model Experiment
Tank at Dumbarton, where visitors can step into the world of
the Victorian ship designer.