2026 FREE BOATING DAY

Calling all boat lovers to The Center for Wooden Boats this June 14th for a festive season kick-off at our 5th annual Free Boating Day!

What to expect:

  • Free 1-hour rentals of all human-powered boats; peapods, rowboats, kayaks, canoes.

  • Free Sailboat Checkouts (skills test on a Capri 22 with an Instructor - get your Yellow card!)

  • Free 1-hour rentals of sailboats with active Yellow Card.

  • International Soccer Celebration Public Sail! Sign up is first come first served and will be outside of the Wagner Education Center starting at 1 PM. Learn more about what to expect at Public Sail here.

  • Free youth and family activities including toy boat building, knot tying, woodshop demonstrations, try a tool, and Pond Boat demonstrations.

  • Wooden Boat Storytime with Sue Kimpton at 2pm!

  • Free access to the museum with new exhibits.

No ticket or RSVP necessary, just show up and have fun!

 

The Western Flyer off the coast of Oregon

The Western Flyer Boat Tours!

The Center for Wooden Boats is excited to welcome the historic Western Flyer to South Lake Union this weekend for free public tours.

Built in 1937, the Western Flyer is best known as the vessel that carried John Steinbeck and Ed Ricketts on their 1940 expedition to the Gulf of California, chronicled in Steinbeck’s The Log from the Sea of Cortez. Today, the restored vessel serves as a platform for marine science research and education. 

Come aboard, meet the crew, and learn more about the boat's remarkable past and present work.

Tours: Saturday June 13 & Sunday June 14, 12:30PM – 4PM at the West Wall in South Lake Union Park

Volunteer Sign-Up: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0B44A9A723A5F9C61-64443699-center#/

Learn more about the Western Flyer at: www.westernflyer.org

More Events this Spring at CWB:

Beers In the Boathouse: June 14th 5PM - 8PM

Cap your day of free boating with music, beers, and good company! Catered by Ravishing Radish. Get your tickets now!

Summer Racing Series: July 9 - September 3 5PM - 8PM

Find your crew right here at CWB! Race Capri 22s across Lake Union every Thursday this summer. Registration starts at just $60!

PRIMA Jubliee Art Exhibition: May - November

Seventeen artists from across the West Coast and Hawaii come together through the PRIMA to exhibit their best marine work here at The Center for Wooden Boats. Feel the awe of Pacific waterways through the eyes of their locals.