Situated on Irvine's Harbourside, you will find exhibitions and ship models as well as Scotland's 'Cathedral of Engineering', the Linthouse Engine Shop, built in 1872. Inside you can explore much of the Museum's collection including shipbuilding machinery and machine tools, small boats, canoes, lifeboats, and much more. A visit also includes a tour to the the shipyard workers' tenement flat, restored to its pre-1920s appearance

Vessels

The collection consists of 43 vessels covering most types of maritime activity - work boats, leisure craft, river and ocean going vessels and naval, fishing and lifesaving craft. All are either Scottish built and represent vessels relevant to the study of Scotland's ship and boat building industry; or if not Scottish built are representative of Scottish Maritime activity or have historically significant provenance within Scotland.

Four of the vessels are included in the draft National Historic Ships list.

Marine Engines, Ship Fittings and Equipment

This collection of marine engines ranges from the earliest developments on the Clyde (PS Comet 2, 1821) to the last commercial examples (SS Chipchase, 1953). Related items include boilers of the "Scotch" and vertical boiler types, as well as associated valves, piping etc. Internal combustion engines are also represented, as well as a set of casting patterns for the engines of the QE2.

Ship fittings are represented in a very wide collection which ranges from pumps and steering machinery to ornate deckhouses and cabin fittings, from sails and rigging to silver plate and crested table settings. There is also a small collection of optical equipment such as military range finders, manufactured by the Glasgow firm of Barr and Stroud.

The collection also includes several very large items of dock and harbour machinery.

Shipbuilding Machinery and Tools

The closure of five Scottish shipbuilding and ship maintenance yards within three years of the establishment of the Scottish Maritime Museum resulted in a collection of well documented and well maintained manufacturing machinery.

From the yards of AF Craig & Co, Henry Robb of Leith and Clydeport's Renfrew Works, the museum obtained large machine tools covering most of the metal working processes in the 19th and 20th century shipyard - planing, drilling, boring, shaping, cutting and joining. While from the Fife's of Fairlie yard the museum obtained a collection of specialist boatbuilding and woodworking tools. These collections have been added to over the years with blacksmithing, forging, sailmaking and rigging tools.

There is also a small collection of drawing and measuring instruments and a collection of around 100 ship, plating and framing models.

Archive and Photographs

The archive collections consist of personal material - work papers and indentures, memoirs, passenger diaries, trades union material and letters and shipping line material, as well as promotional booklets, posters, timetables, tickets and bills.

There are also business archives, including those of Wm Fife & Sons of Fairlie and Irvine Dockyard.

The photographic collection is fairly small but wide ranging, consisting mainly of the donated collections of private individuals, supplemented with photographic references which have accompanied archive and object donations,documentary photographs recording the position and function of large acquisitions, and general recording and fieldwork photographs.

Library

The collection consists of around 2700 volumes and over 500 annual volumes and bound periodicals. It is a broad ranging specialist library with the dominant subjects being Scottish maritime history, naval and company histories, campaign histories and technical works on shipbuilding and seamanship. The stock is mostly recent or published in the last 75 years.

Personal and Miscellaneous

This is a small collection of personal items, costume (mercantile and naval uniforms, yachting and leisure wear, protective clothing), trophies and awards, medals and commemorative items and sailors charity items.

There is also a small number of prints and paintings.