Sturgeon Bay Shipbuilding wins the Beaver Islander construction bid, 1962

Summary

In March 1962, the Beaver Beacon reported that the Beaver Island Boat Company had accepted a $187,000 bid from the Sturgeon Bay Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Corporation, one of three bidders, to build a new ferry named the Beaver Islander, with construction to begin immediately and a planned 23 June start on the Charlevoix–Beaver run. Progress reports in May and June described construction reaching the main deck, then a delay pushing availability to 20 July.

History

The March 1962 Beacon printed a comparison of the new boat against the Emerald Isle: length 95 feet against 72, beam 27 feet against 25, 1,020 horsepower against 360, two screws against one, a top speed of 14-plus miles per hour against 12, capacity for 12 large cars against 8 and 150 passengers against 115, 100 gross tons against 86, and a gangway clearance of 9 feet 6 inches against 7 feet 6 inches. A christening sponsor had not yet been chosen, but the champagne for the ceremony, donated by the late Myron “Bo” Dunham, a longtime island visitor who had died the previous month, was already being held for the occasion. The Beacon also recounted that Sturgeon Bay’s owner, Captain John Rowen, had gotten his start on Beaver Island cutting fence posts for the late Gus Mielke, and that in 1912 he had been shipwrecked in a 60-foot freighter near Looney’s Point with, in his own words, fifty cents in his pocket — fifty years before his company took the contract to build the island’s new ferry.

By May, the Boat Company’s board had gone to Sturgeon Bay to check on progress, finding construction advanced to the main deck with both main engines already delivered and work continuing on schedule. The same issue reported the board’s sale of the Emerald Isle to Arnold Transit Lines for $68,000, final on delivery of the Beaver Islander, after which the Emerald Isle would go onto the Mackinac Island run.

The June 1962 Beacon reported the board’s disappointment on a further visit to Sturgeon Bay: the ferry would not be ready until 20 July, nearly a month later than planned. It explained the delay as a consequence of the Beaver Islander being the first ferry built in the United States under recently relaxed Coast Guard rules permitting greater vessel length under the same operator’s license; because the design would set the pattern for future builders under those rules, extensive shop drawings of individual sections required Coast Guard approval in Washington, and repeated design changes held up the yard’s progress. The article reported a planned 16 July launch, with the already-built pilot house to be set on deck before the vessel’s delivery to the island.

Evidence and limits

These reports establish the contract, construction progress, delay, and plans. The August 1962 issue is the separate source for the vessel’s appearance, christening, and service start.

Added 1 August 2026 · revised 3 August 2026. Recent changes