Wooden boat collector Dwight Stowell will kick off the free Hulls and Hops Speaker Series at New Hampshire Boat Museum (NHBM) on Thursday, July 17, from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. With an interest in wooden boats since childhood, Stowell has donated many antique wooden boats in NHBM’s Marina Exhibit: Mahogany Marvels to preserve an era of lake life he believes is disappearing.

“All my buddies and the kids I grew up with used to make fun of me because I had an old wooden boat and they had these nice new plastic ones,” he explained. “I became a great proponent of promoting them.”

He has also spent a lifetime restoring them, as he said this work began by dragging hulls out from the bottom of lakes. “I’ve traveled the country collecting boats,” he said. “I’ve owned more than 100 boats in my lifetime.”

Regarding the focus of his talk at NHBM, he said he will discuss “leisure time, boating on New Hampshire lakes, and how it evolved.” “We’ll cover Emerson and Thoreau and the transcendentalist movement,” he added. “They were canoeists and water travelists of the lakes of New Hampshire and really the first proponents of enjoying nature in its pristine form.”

According to NHBM Programs Manager Anne Lennon, this is a “must-see” event, especially for history buffs. “Dwight has supported NHBM for a long time,” she noted, “and is passionate about wooden boats…His talk is going to be rich with history and a deep knowledge of nineteenth-century boating culture.”

Woodstock Inn Brewery will serve craft beer and light snacks at Stowell’s talk on Thursday, July 17 at 7:00 p.m. “Because of the generosity of our season sponsor, Amoskeag Beverages, there is no fee to attend the Hulls and Hops Speaker Series,” said NHBM Executive Director Devon Kurtz. “We are so grateful that they have made this event accessible to everyone.” To learn more, visit nhbm.org.

Founded in 1992 by antique and classic boating enthusiasts, NHBM offers dynamic exhibits, engaging programs, and events tailored to the diverse boating lifestyles and values of people of all ages. NHBM is partly sponsored by Home Comfort, North Water Marine, Goodhue Boat Company, Belletetes, Eastern Propane and Oil, Kingswood Press and Design Studios, and Watermark Marine.

New Hampshire Boat Museum / 130 Whittier Hwy (Rte 25) / Moultonborough, NH