Tried the free boat rental, the renting process was great and the boat was good. But 1 hour was too less time for beginners. Plus, a few people staring at us (and possibly laughing at us cause we were stuck for a while) made it even more stressful. :( If you’re a beginner, I’d recommend taking a lesson first.

We stopped by this place on a whim and had a nice time looking around. We poked our heads in out of curiosity and were welcomed in by staff who let us know it was free of charge to come inside. While we were there, another visitor was being rude towards staff because there weren't any boats available to borrow at the time (it was a busy, sunny Saturday afternoon). Staff were professional and incredibly kind despite this person's bad behavior. I hope whoever is in charge of this place knows that their staff are fantastic! We enjoyed looking around and seeing the boats inside and out. I'll definitely come back.

Spectacular works of art when it comes to wooden boats! Beyond impressive! We always seem to be in town after they have closed. Our goal is to actually visit and take in the full experience. Can’t wait.

Travelling through Seattle.... this centre is about 5 minutes walk from the Lake Union hotels and en route to the Seattle Space Needle. There is no entry fee and you can walk around the wharf to see the boats. They also offer classes there for boating.

You can check out some of the row boats by the hour and you can get private sail lessons. There are classes for adults and youth camps. The youth camps are primarily in the summer. It's a fun chill place to learn more about wooden boats or chill on the water in a small boat.

We are a small elopement planning company and we reserved the MS Wolf for a recent couple to host their ceremony and picnic with the Center for Wooden Boats. Our clients and team had a great time with Allen on the MS Wolf! Allen was so professional and helpful. He really helped me organize a great experience for our wedding couple. The booking process was easy and he offered us an indoor location as a backup for their ceremony in case of bad weather, which put my couple at ease. We happened to have a gorgeous day on the water and Allen even officiated the ceremony on the boat for them! We will definitely be booking again for future events!!

Had the best day on the water. Meg, helped us rent a pedal boat. She was very friendly and got us on the water very quickly! Would definitely come back again!!!

Hired a double kayak. So friendly and helpful. Such an interesting place to kayak with the seaplanes landing and yachts sailing. Great fun fir an hour or two. Wear sunscreen!

So cool! No entry fee and the exhibits were really educational. I now know the difference between a skiff and a dinghy. You can see where they make the boats and there's a very nice view too.

Very good place if you like sailing year-round. Beautiful boats. Beginner and advanced friendly and a great first year before sailing bigger sailboats. Friendly crew.

Upon arriving, I was confused about what the “Center” was, but soon found the “Boat House” which serves as a source for visitor information. Basically, the Center for Wooden Boats encourages you to walk along the dock and look at a few boats (free) or rent a boat and go out on the water ($$). There were a few signs with information about sailing, but overall there isn’t much substance if you’re hoping for a museum-type experience. Though they do offer the experience of sailing on a larger boat with an employee, I wish they offered it some days other than Sunday.

History is seen, touched and floated on at this uniquely amazing Center for Wooden Boats. My father built a model of one of the wooden racing yachts parked at the Center, but this is the first I've seen in person. Wonderful! Update: Rowing a boat becomes 1000 times easier once you've seen how an expert can move those babies!

Excellent non-profit foundation and museum livery boat-rental and extensive volunteer opportunities. If sailing isn't your thing, walking along the docks and admiring the beautiful historic wooden boats makes for a delightful outing.

Nice place to rent and sail. It’s located en route to the Seattle Space Needle. No entry fee and you can walk around.

We came here on Sunday when they offer free rides by volunteer boat drivers. We were supposed to go whale watching but it got cancelled so this was a perfect second option. We had about 45 minutes out on the water with an amazing guide and got to see some amazing things we wouldn't have normally seen online. The day was beautiful and I could not recommend coming here more! They do take donations to keep them running.

The staff are kind. A few forms to fill out and you are all set to enjoy the boat.

Neat museum with boat rentals attached. Free rowboat rentals also available for reservations online

A easy place to visit and see a variety of wooden boats at the dock.

Great rentals with history; little expensive for a row or sail rental, but worth it if you are interested in wooden vessels. Also great opportunity to watch sea planes land and take off up close.

Perfect morning's row on Lake Union, dodging paddleboards and sightseeing houseboats. Lovely little wooden wherry - handles sweetly. Welcoming and enthusiastic volunteer staff. Can't recommend highly enough.m

very amazing place to look and learn about wooden boats, I'm a junior instructor and it's a nice place to sign your kid up for in the summer! 10/10

This is a really cool place! I took a rowing boat out on the lake and had a blast. Staff were very friendly and relaxed - didn't even bat an eyelid as I nearly crashed the boat numerous times into far more expensive looking boats!

Photos from last weekend walking tour of my YouTube channel 4k Family Fun Walk

I’ve only been here to row the wooden boats; not sure about sailing or other educational opportunities CWB offers. So this is just for the rowboat program: IT ROCKS! Went here with a friend in July, we had a bunch of fun and got to catch up on life while rowing around. Then took my 15-year old sister who was visiting town here, and this was the first time I saw her “light up” (she’d been in an angsty phase). It’s very fun, good for all ages and engaging, all for an affordable price. Rowing the pea pods is fun and on a clear day, you can get pretty far out (we checked out the houseboats). Plus the view of Seattle is beautiful. Highly recommended for locals and tourists alike, especially on a clear summer day.

Hands on opportunities to engage with boats. You can take out a peapod rowboat for free right now if you visit their website. Volunteer and you earn boat rental hours. You don't need to own a boat to enjoy boating here.

For years I've wanted to learn how to sail, and on a whim last summer, signed up for the Sailing School. This has been a very positive experience. The entire organization is very supportive of helping pass on knowledge of sailing to new folks, and is very inclusive of all backgrounds. Learning to sail at CWB has been a springboard to taking an ASA 101 and eventually 103 class, which felt like a breeze after sailing here for over a year. I highly recommend CWB for anyone who sails or wants to learn how to sail - you won't regret it.

Cute, small, free museum with lots of cool wooden boats at the docks outside.

More to learn than you can get in a day. Everyone very nice and informative!