On Wednesday, July 22, the New Hampshire Boat Museum (NHBM) will host Ernest Thompson, Academy Award-winning writer of On Golden Pond, as part of its popular Hulls and Hops Speaker Series, sponsored by Notch Brewing.
The event, however, is not merely about Thompson’s 50-year career, ten movies, 35 plays, two novels, and 300 songs, as he himself noted, “It always begins with the boat,” a concept that will take center stage when he visits NHBM.
“I’ll talk a little bit about my background, how I got connected with the boat museum, primarily because of my movie On Golden Pond, and how boats still play a big part in stories that I write,” he explained.
In the film, On Golden Pond, which was released in 1981 and starred Henry Fonda, Katharine Hepburn, and Jane Fonda, a Chris-Craft (boat) played a key role.
“One of the four used in the original will be back in the sequel—and boats, large and small, are integral parts of my novel Out Clause,” added Thompson.
Published in May 2026, Out Clause is a literary thriller whose many characters and plotlines include a man whose unsuccessful marriage leads him to Out Clause, an organization that arranges new lives for people who might need one. His story begins in a fictional Central American country, complete with a tiny sailboat meant to reconnect him with the simplicity of his boyhood love of sailing. Another watercraft that plays a significant role in the novel is the Out Clause founder’s 200-foot yacht that features a helipad and a morgue, elements that connect with Thompson’s own passion for boats of all types and sizes.
“As a storyteller, there’s something about being on the water that I find not only familiar and soothing and inspiring but wildly conducive to embracing the creative process,” said Thompson.
His familiarity with water began on Great Pond in Maine’s Belgrade Lakes on a plot of land his grandfather bought in 1908 (and his family still owns). “So every summer that’s where I would go,” he said. “I think I literally could swim before I could walk—I have a photo of myself at seven months sitting in the water at Great Pond, so it’s in my blood.”
While at NHBM, Thompson plans to share these and other stories, including memories related to boats his family had when he was a boy. He described these boats as “slightly less elegant than the famous Chris-Crafts and expensive wooden boats.”
“My father was in public school administration, meaning he didn’t have a big salary, so our boats were modest but very important to me as a kid,” he said.
One memory, in particular, stands out. “I remember we had a rowboat and a three-horsepower Evinrude motor, and to me it was a cigarette boat—it was so cool and fast,” he said.
Noting he found a long piece of brass piping that he could stick into the end of the Evinrude handle, Thompson said he could sit in the bow and pretend he was driving a hydroplane. “I must have looked pathetic at 10 years old, going along in my little boat,” he laughed. “But yeah, I’ll talk about that.”
While his stories may begin with boats, he will not stop there in his talk at NHBM. “I’ve had the honor—in most cases, in some, let us say, the challenge—of having worked with 30 fellow Oscar winners or nominees, and people want to know about those folks, too,” he said. “I’ve got stories to tell.”
He plans to hear his fair share of stories, too. “I love it when people want to come up and have a book signed, because every single person has a story to tell me,” he said. “I love that engagement, which I wouldn’t have otherwise.”
Hulls and Hops Speaker Series with Academy Award–Winning Writer Ernest Thompson takes place on Wednesday, July 22, 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at NHBM’s Moultonborough Campus. Amoskeag Beverages is the series season sponsor, with Notch Brewing the featured brewer for this event.
Admission is $10 for NHBM members and $15 for nonmembers. Click here to purchase tickets.
About NHBM
Founded in 1992 by antique and classic boating enthusiasts, NHBM offers dynamic exhibits and engaging events and programs tailored to the diverse boating lifestyles and values of people of all ages. NHBM exhibits, events and programming covers everything from boat charters, boat trips and race boats to canoes, wooden boats, outboard motors, sculling, sailing sunfish, and Lyman and Johnson motors. Some of our hands-on programs take place on Lake Winnipesaukee. NHBM is sponsored in part by Goodhue Boat Company, North Water Marine, Eastern Propane and Oil, Kingswood Press and Design Studios, Avery Insurance, KW Lakes and Mountains, Lanes End Marine, Watermark Marine, Amoskeag Beverages, Mi Box, Fay’s Boat Yard, and BootLeggers.