The Maine Maritime Museum

What The Maine Maritime Museum does

Maine Maritime Museum is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit cultural institution operating on a 20-acre campus on the banks of the Kennebec River in Bath, Maine. Founded in 1973 as an independent public charity (EIN 01-0271477), the museum preserves and interprets Maine's maritime heritage through a portfolio of exhibits, guided tours, watercraft restoration, and educational programs. Its signature asset is the Percy & Small Shipyard — America's only surviving intact wooden shipyard where large sailing vessels such as the six-masted schooner Wyoming were built — alongside the Donnell House Victorian home, the Maritime History Building, the Kenneth D. Kramer Blacksmith Shop, and a working Watercraft Restoration Center. The institution manages a collection of 20,000+ objects, 26,000+ catalog records, millions of archival documents, and the Merchant Mariners Muster database containing 28,695 mariner records spanning more than 200 years, with only 5% of the collection currently exhibited and ongoing digitization efforts expanding access.

The museum's product portfolio comprises permanent and rotating exhibits, Merrymeeting vessel cruises along Maine's waterways, school programs including the Discovery Boatbuilding initiative for grades 7-8 (in partnership with Woolwich Central School), homeschool and camp programs, group tours and charters, weddings and private event rentals, and a Shopify-based online retail store. Underlying technology consists of a conventional collection management database, a Digital Guide audio/multimedia app, and a Google Arts & Culture partnership enabling virtual exhibit access. Recent exhibit activity includes Upon That Isle in Maine (Feb 2025), Local Color: Painting the Coast of Maine (Jul 2025), and Re|Sounding (Nov 2025–2027) on Indigenous and Black maritime communities, alongside collaborations with Bowdoin College, Bath Iron Works, the Gulf of Maine Research Institute, and the University of Maine Darling Marine Center.

Revenue is generated through a diversified nonprofit model: admissions and recurring memberships, cruise ticket and event rental revenue, charitable donations and corporate sponsorships (Bath Savings, Bill Dodge Auto Group), grants from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, National Endowment for the Humanities, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and others, retail merchandise, and an ongoing Beetle Cat Sailboat sweepstakes. The museum is governed by a Board of Trustees (Chair: Loren B. Wright) with Chris Timm as Executive Director and a leadership team spanning advancement, finance, operations, boatbuilding, exhibits and learning, visitor experience, and curatorial functions. Over 500 active volunteers contribute in-kind services valued at more than $500,000 annually.

Name

The Maine Maritime Museum

Legal name

Maine Maritime Museum

Website

https://mainemaritimemuseum.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1973

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Maine Maritime Museum is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit operating a 20-acre Bath, Maine campus featuring exhibits, cruises aboard the Merrymeeting, guided shipyard tours, and educational programs serving tourists, K-12 students, members, and maritime history researchers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Maritime Museum & Cultural Heritage Services

NAICS

Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (7121), Museums (712110), Historical Sites (712120)

SIC

Water Transportation (4400), Ship & Boat Building & Repairing (3730)

akta.pro primary industry

Specialty Museums (e.g., Maritime, Aviation, Sports, Music, Film) (THAJADAF)

Keywords

• Maritime museum exhibits
• Maritime heritage education
• River cruise tours
• Historic shipyard tours
• Boatbuilding programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Bath

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Admission and Membership: Revenue from visitor admissions and annual memberships providing access to the museum, exhibits, and member benefits.
2. Cruises and Events: Revenue from cruise tickets aboard the Merrymeeting vessel, special events, weddings, and private rentals.
3. Donations and Fundraising: Charitable donations from individuals, corporate sponsors, and grant funding from foundations and government agencies.
4. Retail Store: Museum store selling merchandise including gift items, apparel, and educational products.
5. Sweepstakes: Boat sweepstakes generating donations with prize being a Beetle Cat Sailboat valued at approximately $4,419.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Maine Maritime Museum operates a 20-acre nonprofit maritime heritage campus in Bath, Maine, offering permanent and rotating exhibits, guided tours of the historic Percy & Small Shipyard and Donnell House, watercraft restoration demonstrations, river cruises aboard the vessel Merrymeeting, and hands-on boatbuilding and educational programs for students. The museum also runs a retail store, membership program, group tours, and venue rentals for private events. Revenue is supplemented by donations and grants supporting preservation of over 20,000 maritime artifacts.

Product overview

The Maine Maritime Museum operates as a nonprofit cultural institution offering a unified portfolio of visitor experiences centered on Maine's maritime heritage. The core offering consists of rotating and permanent exhibits across multiple venues on a 20-acre campus, complemented by guided tours (Percy & Small Shipyard, Donnell House, Bath Iron Works), hands-on demonstrations (Blacksmith Shop, Ship Launching), and watercraft restoration viewing. Visitor engagement is extended through educational programs including Discovery Boatbuilding for students, school visits, and camps. Revenue-generating products include the Museum Store, Membership/Season Pass programs, the All-You-Can-Cruise pass, and the Win This Boat sweepstakes. Additional services encompass group tours, charters, and venue rentals for private events. The museum also provides research access to its collection of 20,000+ objects and archival materials through online databases and the Digital Guide application.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Maritime Exhibits

Quantifiable outcome

• 5% of collection currently exhibited, with ongoing digitization efforts expanding access

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• Bowdoin College's Africana Studies DepartmentcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Collaboration on Cotton Town exhibit investigating Maine's economic connections to slavery. Project involved student-curated exhibit interpreting items from the museum's collection.
• American Alliance of Museums (AAM)coreOthersProud member of the American Alliance of Museums, a leading organization for the museum industry in the United States.
• Maine Tourism AssociationcoreOthersProud member of Maine Tourism Association, supporting tourism promotion in Maine.
• Council of American Maritime MuseumscoreOthersProud member of the Council of American Maritime Museums, a professional organization for maritime museums.
• Maine Museums AssociationcoreOthersProud member of Maine Museums Association, the state-level organization for museums in Maine.
• Bath Iron WorksflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on BIW: Building America's Navy exhibit and Bath Iron Works tour program. Tours include museum exhibit, trolley tour, and cruise aboard Merrymeeting past BIW's riverfront campus.
• Art Bridges FoundationcoreOthersCorporate sponsor for the Local Color: Painting the Coast of Maine exhibit, providing artwork support including George Bellows' Evening Swell.
• Google Arts & CulturecoreTechnology or IntegrationPartner museum on Google Arts & Culture platform, providing virtual access to painting collection through interactive exhibits and high-resolution viewing.
• Bath SavingsminorOthersLocal bank sponsor supporting the museum's volunteer program.
• Bill Dodge Auto GroupminorOthersLocal auto dealer sponsor supporting the museum's volunteer program.
• Flight Deck BrewingminorOthersPizza and beer garden partner operating on museum grounds, opened as a new amenity for visitors.
• Maine Lobstermen's AssociationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerExpertise partner for Lobstering & The Maine Coast exhibit, providing guidance on lobstering industry content.
• University of Maine's Darling Marine CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerExpertise partner for Lobstering & The Maine Coast exhibit, contributing scientific and research perspective.
• Gulf of Maine Research InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerExpertise partner for Lobstering & The Maine Coast exhibit.
• Gulf of Maine EcoArtscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization for SeaChange: Darkness & Light in the Gulf of Maine exhibit, creating art and natural science exhibition on Cashes Ledge ecosystem.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Mystic Seaport Museum: The nation's largest maritime museum in Mystic, Connecticut, operating a recreated 19th-century seafaring village with historic vessels, exhibits, and educational programs. Directly comparable as a New England maritime heritage museum with a preserved historic shipyard and active boatbuilding programs.
• Mariners' Museum and Park: Maritime heritage museum in Newport News, Virginia, with extensive collections of maritime artifacts, ship models, and the USS Monitor Center. Comparable as a major US maritime museum with deep collections, educational programming, and waterfront campus.
• Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum: Waterfront maritime museum in St. Michaels, Maryland, preserving Chesapeake Bay boatbuilding traditions with a working boatyard, exhibits, and cruises. Closely comparable as a regional maritime museum combining historic shipyard/boatbuilding exhibits with cruise operations.
• New Bedford Whaling Museum: Maritime museum in New Bedford, Massachusetts, focused on the global story of whaling and its impact. Comparable as a New England coastal maritime museum with large collections, educational programs, and cruise/heritage tour offerings.

Broad incumbents

• San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park: National Park Service site preserving San Francisco's maritime heritage with a fleet of historic vessels, visitor center, and Hyde Street Pier. Comparable maritime heritage institution with historic vessels and exhibits, though federally operated rather than nonprofit.
• Peabody Essex Museum: Large art and culture museum in Salem, Massachusetts, with significant maritime collections including one of the world's oldest continuously operating maritime collections. Comparable in New England cultural tourism and maritime content but with a much broader art/culture scope.
• National Maritime Museum (Royal Museums Greenwich): UK national maritime museum in Greenwich with extensive collections, historic vessels, and major educational programming. Comparable as a leading national maritime museum institution, though operating at much larger scale and on a different continent.

Others

• Bath Iron Works: Active naval shipyard in Bath, Maine, and a strategic partner of Maine Maritime Museum through the BIW: Building America's Navy exhibit and tour program. Not a museum, but a closely tied ecosystem participant enabling the museum's flagship shipyard tour offering.

Regional players

• Columbia River Maritime Museum: Maritime museum in Astoria, Oregon, on the Columbia River with exhibits on Pacific Northwest maritime history and a historic lighthouse. Comparable as a US maritime museum but operates in a different regional geography than Maine.
• Custom House Maritime Museum: Maritime museum in Newburyport, Massachusetts, housed in the historic US Custom House, interpreting the region's maritime heritage. Comparable as a smaller New England maritime heritage museum with exhibit-based programming.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/MaineMaritimeMuseum
• Instagraminstagram.com/mainemaritimemuseum
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/maine-maritime-museum

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Maine Maritime Museum