H.W. McCurdy Library

The H.W. McCurdy Library offers the Port Townsend community, visitors to the community, and staff of Northwest Maritime a welcoming and comfortable place to pursue and research maritime topics and interests. The library is located on the second floor of the Weissblum Maritime Heritage Building at Northwest Maritime.

Shared Online Catalog

The holdings of the H.W. McCurdy Library are included in Port Townsend and Jefferson County Public Libraries’ online catalog (CLEO).  Our collection complements the maritime collection at Port Townsend Public Library.

All library users with a Port Townsend, Jefferson County, or Port Townsend, Chimacum, Quilcene, or Brinnon school library card are eligible to check out books from our collection. New library cards may be obtained at the Port Townsend and Jefferson County Libraries or by visiting their website. Checked-out books may be returned at any of the member libraries or book drops.

Collection Topics Include

  • Boatbuilding and yacht design
  • Boat maintenance and repair
  • Rigging, sail making, and canvas work
  • Worldwide nautical chart collection
  • Voyaging and cruising narratives
  • Sailing and racing
  • Kayaking, canoeing, and rowing
  • Maritime and naval history
  • Model boatbuilding and boatbuilding plans
  • Vintage boating magazines
  • Sea shanty books and CDs
  • Maritime art and photography
  • Nautical fiction
  • Maritime videos and DVDs

Our extensive collection of books, periodicals, charts, and boat plans has evolved over many years through donations given to the Wooden Boat Foundation and the Northwest Maritime Center. In addition to the topics listed above, the library has a small collection of rare historic books on yacht design and maritime history. These are kept in an archive but are available on request for reference use in the library. Also of historic importance are photo albums of shipping on Puget Sound from the mid-19th century to the mid-20th century and bound Rudder magazines from the early 1900s.

Donate to the Library

Donations of books on maritime subjects are gratefully accepted. Each donation will be evaluated for inclusion based on subject matter and condition. Duplicate copies given to our library may be sold at Marine Thrift, where sales proceeds support NWM programs.

Contact Us

Open Monday–Friday, 9 AM–4:30 PM
360.385.3628
431 Water Street
Port Townsend, WA 98368

The mission of Northwest Maritime is to engage and educate people of all generations in traditional and contemporary maritime life, in a spirit of adventure and discovery.

Northwest Maritime (FEIN # 91-1931643) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

© 2024 Northwest Maritime Center