The Lake Champlain Sailing Canal Boat is endemic to Lake Champlain. Designed to be pulled through the Erie and Champlain (aka Northern) canals (among many others) then sailed on open water, typically Lake Champlain and the Hudson River, without having to unload/reload the cargo onto sailing vessels, saving much labor. As such, they have a sail rig with masts stepped on deck in tabernacles for easy lowering and a centerboard.

Of the thousands of canal boats plying the waters of the northeast US and adjacent Canada, only about 400 of these boats were built during the heyday of canals starting with the opening of the Erie and Northern Canals in 1823. The canals being enlarged on a regular basis, and maximizing cargo volume being critical to economy, the Lois McClure is an 1862-class variant. The maritime museum chose to build this replica of two shipwrecks in Burlington, VT, the General Butler built in Essex, NY and O. J. Walker in Burlington, VT, both in 1862.

She has educated over 300,000 visitors as they toured her, all for free, over the past 15 years, spanning the inland waters from Long Island to Ottawa and Buffalo to Quebec, many thousands of miles in total.