| Additional Information: | A 'site file' exists for this property. It contains additional information such as correspondence, newspaper clippings, or historical information. It is a public record and may be viewed in person at the Wisconsin Historical Society, State Historic Preservation Office.
Architecture:
The “Utopia” staysail schooner is 65’ on-deck with a total length of 77’. Her beam is 18’, she draws 8’ of water, and her gross tonnage is 49 tons. Her displacement is 60 tons. There are two masts along with two 353 GM 101-horsepower diesel engines that power twin propellers. There is a double-steel bottom that transitions to wood below the water line.
The schooner is fitted out with a pilot house and cabin accommodations. The pilot house features a wooden wheel and instrument panels from the vessel’s original 1946 construction date along with original wood trim. The cabin features a galley with stainless steel counters, wooden cabinets, and an apartment sized stove. The ceiling is covered with wainscotting. There are wooden built-in bunks with drawers and other storage areas in the cabin.
Restoration of the Utopia was done in 2018-2019 by the Seefeld Boatworks in Michigan. The work included replacement of several sections of the steel bottom, rebuilding a number of white oak hull frames, replacement of steel joints, and replacement of rotted wood.
History:
The boat was designed and built by Fred Peterson of Peterson Building Inc. of Sturgeon Bay. Martin Peterson founded Peterson Boat Works in 1907 and built fishing vessels. After a fire in 1918, the works were idle until 1933, when Martin’s son, Fred, re-established the company as Peterson Building, Inc. After several years of building fishing vessels, during World War II, Peterson Building, Inc. began constructing small war vessels for the navy. A few years after World War II, the company began getting contracts for small boats for the Navy. These contracts continued until 1998. In between naval contracts, Peterson Building, Inc. also built the occasional fishing vessel, tug boat, ferry boat or other type of medium-sized vessels. During its peak production years, Peterson Building, Inc. employed more than 1,000 workers and had a large boat-building complex in Sturgeon Bay (mostly demolished). In 1965, Fred’s son, Ellsworth Peterson, took over the company and steered it until its closure in 1998. (U.S. Shipbuilding History website, http://shipbuildinghistory.com/shipyards/large/peterson)
Right after World War II, before the Peterson company began to receive post-war naval contracts, Fred Peterson kept a core of experienced boat builders on staff to build the occasional boat under contract. They also began building the schooner yacht “Utopia,” Fred Peterson’s design for a yacht type boat that could cruise for extended periods of time on both the Great Lakes and on the world’s oceans. The Utopia was completed in 1946 and outfitted for sailing in July of 1947. Fred Peterson then sailed the Utopia through the Great Lakes to the St. Lawrence River and across the Atlantic Ocean to Spain and back. After eight years of these types of cruises, the Utopia took a round-the-world cruise in the late 1950s, coming back to Sturgeon Bay in 1959. The Utopia also took part in many races and sailing events. (“The History of the Staysail Schooner ‘Utopia,’” Great Lakes Scuttlebutt, March 30, 2022, website https://www.tallshipsamerica.org/vessels/utopia.)
Just as he took over his father’s company, Ellsworth Peterson acquired the “Utopia,” and used it extensively to sail recreationally, race, and participate in sailing events. In 2016, two years before his death, Peterson donated the “Utopia” to the Inland Seas Education Association (ISEA) to be displayed at the Discovery Pier in Traverse City, Michigan. In 2018-2019, the ISEA had the “Utopia” renovated by the Seefeld Boat Works replacing damaged and rotted material with replica material to maintain its museum status. The “Utopia” was on display until 2023 when it was sold and returned to Wisconsin by a private (current) owner. The vessel is kept in Manitowoc. (Green Bay Press Gazette, September 30, 2016; Liz Welter, “Ellsworth Peterson, an icon of Sturgeon Bay shipbuilding, left lasting community legacy,” Green Bay Press Gazette, May 10, 2018, both articles found on-line.)
(Carol Cartwright, 5-2024) |
|---|
| Bibliographic References: | U.S. Shipbuilding History website, http://shipbuildinghistory.com/shipyards/large/peterson.
“The History of the Staysail Schooner ‘Utopia,’” Great Lakes Scuttlebutt, March 30, 2022, website https://www.tallshipsamerica.org/vessels/utopia.
Green Bay Press Gazette, September 30, 2016.
Liz Welter, “Ellsworth Peterson, an icon of Sturgeon Bay shipbuilding, left lasting community legacy,” Green Bay Press Gazette, May 10, 2018, both articles found on-line. |
|---|
