The large boathouse named Stornaustet was built during the first half of the 1990s and is a reconstruction of the kind of boathouses one would find at trading posts and big farms in the county of Troms. It has a particular strong and simple frame construction, called “stavlinekonstruksjon”. he frame consists of sturdy timber beams and columns which are stiffened by long braces in varying angles and directions, often placed symmetrically to the columns. Inside it has two additional rows of freestanding timber columns to support the heavy birch bark and turf roof. 

The boathouse is used as an exhibition space and the two main exhibits are the well-worn wooden boats named “Merkur” and “Drauen”. They are a traditional North Norwegian boat type, a “fembøring”, which has a sail, up to five or six pairs of oars and can measure up to 48 feet. There are also two exhibitions: one about women’s traditional roles during the preparation for the big annual Lofoten fisheries and another about the international trade in clipfish and stockfish which were significant parts of the importing countries’ cuisines.