The museum extension has also been used to display objects relating to Captain George Peacock, a prominent 16th century maritime innovator.

The four boats are:

• ‘The Cygnet’, a unique 15-foot long craft designed and built around 1865, in the shape of a Swan, by Captain George Peacock. It resided at Starcross and was used as the tender to Peacock’s larger yacht ‘Swan’.
• ‘Ruby’, built in 1902, a 20-foot long example of an early 20th century rowed Exe Salmon Boat
• ‘Exe lugger’, an unnamed 20-foot long craft used on the estuary for fishing and the carrying of ‘market goods’ and passengers
• ‘Skiff’, a 19-foot long light-weight craft used on the River Exe and Exeter Canal in the early 1900s as a recreational boat, and the only example locally of this type of vessel

The new extension was also designed to provide room for an improved reception area with audio loop, a passenger lift and improved access to the museum from the adjacent garden. Other improvements included enhancing visitor information as a whole and further developing outreach work.