The museum's Linthouse building is located at Irvine Harbour, situated within the category A listed former Engine Shop of Alexander Stephen and Sons, which was salvaged and relocated from their derelict Linthouse shipyard in Glasgow in 1991.

[6] The museum also has a collection of marine engines and industrial machine tools, and owns a recreated 1920s worker's tenement flat at Irvine Harbour.

[7] In 2020 the museum managed to raise funds to keep MV Kyles as a floating vessel.

[6] The Denny Ship Model Experiment Tank, in Dumbarton, focuses on the world of the naval architect.

The museum also tells the story of the test tank's original owners, William Denny and Brothers of Dumbarton, one of the most innovative shipbuilding companies in the world until their closure in 1963.