Maritime Museum Offers Solar Powered Boat Tours

​Maritime Museum Offers Solar Powered Boat Tours

​Themes include bird watching, lighthouses, and shipwrecks

KINGSTON, N.Y. – Hudson River Maritime Museum is offering themed boat tours of the Hudson River and Rondout Creek beginning Memorial Day weekend. The public is invited for popular cruises to the Rondout Lighthouse as well as trips focusing on topics such as the Hudson River region’s industrial waterfront, bird watching, and local shipwreck sites. Most programming is educational and leisure cruises are available as well. Tours take place on board Solaris, a 100% solar powered tour boat built at the museum’s Wooden Boat School, which offers a unique and peaceful way to experience the Hudson River and Rondout Creek. Solaris is also available for private charter and all proceeds from tours and charters benefit the museum. 

Returning in 2021 are popular trips enabling people to see local lighthouses, learn industrial waterfront history, see the sunset out on the Hudson River, and also experience lantern cruises later in the fall. New for this season is a shipwrecks tour, live music experiences, twilight trips, and a Happy Hour cruise. Special guest appearances will expand the museum’s tour topics this season to include indigenous and Native heritage, birdwatching, local ecology and climate change, as well as the opportunity to dive deeper into subjects such as shipwrecks and the D&H Canal.

Tours depart from the docks at the museum and typically run for one to two hours. The museum continues to take precautions to ensure the safety of visitors, staff, and volunteers by monitoring and implementing CDC recommendations throughout the season. Visit www.hrmm.org to learn about measures in place to ensure safety during programming and throughout campus.   

A calendar of themes and dates for the museum’s boat tours can be found online at www.hrmm.org/all-boat-tours. People who have questions are encouraged to call the museum at 845-338-0071. 

About Solaris
Solaris is the Hudson River Maritime Museum’s 100% solar powered tour boat and floating classroom. Build on site at the museum’s Wooden Boat School, Solaris is a 44’ wooden launch that can accommodate up to 24 people (though capacity restrictions are in place during COVID). The boat is powered entirely through the sun via her onboard solar panels, and no shore power connection or generator is needed. Solar energy is stored in batteries and then powers an electric motor—so Solaris requires no engine oil, coolant or fuel and emits zero exhaust or odors. The museum offers a variety of seasonal tours on board Solaris, including lighthouse trips and themed tours covering shipwreck sites, bird watching, local indigenous heritage, and more. Learn more about Solaris at www.hrmm.org/meet-solaris.