Visiting

The Nautical Museum and the Peggy

Two places to visit: Quayle’s boathouse in Castletown, and the Peggy herself in her conservation unit.

The Peggy is a real boat, built in Castletown in the Isle of Man. Every fact is in our own words with its source linked beside it. Where good sources disagree, we show each version.

When we checked in November 2026, the museum page said it reopens in March 2027. Manx National Heritage, museum

The facility page said its tours start again in March 2027. Manx National Heritage, facility

The Nautical Museum

The museum is Quayle’s 18th-century private dock and boathouse, overlooking Castletown harbour. Manx National Heritage, museum

For more than 200 years it was home to the Peggy. Manx National Heritage, museum

The Nautical Museum is on Bridge Street, Castletown, IM9 1AX. Manx National Heritage, museum

It is visited as part of the Castletown Heritage Tour. Manx National Heritage, museum

Castletown has a stop on the Isle of Man Steam Railway, and several bus routes. Manx National Heritage, museum

What you see

The Quayle Gallery shows finds from the excavations, including a leather pistol holster, coconut-shell drinking cups and what is thought to be an 18th-century microscope. Manx National Heritage, museum

You can sit in a room made like the cabin of a naval warship, with secret doors and panels. Manx National Heritage, museum

Upstairs is a sailmaker’s loft with the tools of the trade. Manx National Heritage, museum

Manx National Heritage calls the boathouse eccentric: it still puzzles architectural historians. Manx National Heritage, conservation

Manx National Heritage says the dock parallels canal and dock engineering in the UK but comes before much of it. MNH statement of significance, 2021

Seeing the Peggy

Behind-the-scenes tours of the facility run at Cooil Smithy on the Isle of Man Business Park. Manx National Heritage, museum

Manx National Heritage calls her the oldest surviving Manx vessel and a rare example of 18th-century boatbuilding. Manx National Heritage, facility

Around Castletown

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