The new book about the former Palmer Johnson boatyard in Sturgeon Bay could have been a basic recitation of the the company’s history.
That in itself could be a fascinating read — a book about a company in a small Door County community that at one time built some of the fastest racing yachts and biggest, most luxurious and advanced motor yachts in the world for very wealthy customers, some of whose names you’d know and who visited Sturgeon Bay to see the work on their vessels in progress. Like Ted Turner, who raced a Palmer Johnson sail yacht, and King Juan Carlos of Spain, to name a couple.
“In the 1970s and 1980s, we were one of the top three or four shipbuilders in the world,” said former Palmer Johnson co-owner and president Bill Parsons.
But to Parsons, “The Boatyard: How a Rollicking Bunch in Rural Wisconsin Built the Finest Yachts in the World” is more about the people who worked at the yard and helped make the company’s international reputation, along with some behind-the-scenes happenings that offer a glimpse at some of its key players and its sense of family.
Written by the late James Mihaley and published in May 2025, “The Boatyard” covers Palmer Johnson from 1961, when it was purchased by customer and Texas Instruments founder Patrick Haggerty and soon moved from wood construction to become one of the leading and most innovative aluminum boat builders around, to 2000, when partners Parsons and Mike Kelsey Sr., sold to a new owner.
Instead of a linear chronological history, the book is a series of stories that, when strung together, are meant to show what it was like for Parsons, Kelsey and fellow partner Edward “Shuff” Willman (who died in 1989) to grow Palmer Johnson into the company it became, along with hailing the engineers, carpenters, builders and craftspeople who made the boats.
“We grew constantly, had a happy organization, happy employees, had wonderful relationships with our customers,” said Parsons, noting that the boatyard grew from 15 employees to about 300 during his time. “A lot of people came to Sturgeon Bay to watch their boats being built and fell in love with Sturgeon Bay. Many of them became friends for life.”
There are tales of boat launches on hold (for 20 minutes, because the owner’s astrologer said it would take that long for the stars to properly align), difficult customers, deals made over beverages at a watering hole, company parties and more, all to show it was like at Palmer Johnson during the last four decades of the 1900s.
A brief history of Palmer Johnson, then and now
The boatyard’s history dates to 1918, when 1918 Hans Johnson and Herman Gmack started a business to build fishing boats. Johnson later bought out Gmack and changed the company name from Johnson and Gmack to Sturgeon Bay Boat Works, eventually expanding into building wooden yachts. Palmer Johnson, Hans’ son, became the main owner in 1932, and a new group of owners in the 1950s renamed it Palmer Johnson Yachts. Haggerty took over in 1961 and remained until his death in 1980, with Kelsey, Parsons and Willman becoming partners along the way.
Parsons and Kelsey sold Palmer Johnson in 2000 to Andrew McKelvey of monster.com, who Parsons described as “a yacht owner who decided he wanted to run a yacht company,” but the business struggled and Parsons said the family spirit was lost under the new management. English businessman Timur Mohamed bought Palmer Johnson in 2003 but announced in 2015 the Sturgeon Bay yard would close after finishing its last boat, which happened in 2017.
“The years after 2000 weren’t happy for the organization,” Parsons said. “It never really clicked at the same level.”
Palmer Johnson yachts continue to be made from its bases in Europe, Fincantieri Marine of Italy now operates out of the former Palmer Johnson yard at First Avenue and Kentucy Street, and Parsons’ son Craig runs a spinoff company started under Parsons and based in Sun Prairie, Palmer Johnson Power Systems, that sells and services engine and transmission components for off-road industrial use on land and sea.
‘We’re getting calls from all over the world about this book’
“The Boatyard” was a project for Mihaley, a son-in-law of Kelsey, who Parsons said recorded hundred of hours of conversations with Parsons and other key figures and was assembling the book when he died in February 2024. Parsons said Mihaley had gotten publishing giant Simon & Schuster interested in the book and regarded book editor and publisher Judith Regan gave an early manuscript a strong review.
“When Judith Regan read the script, she said this is a wonderful success story about the love affair between Sturgeon Bay and the people — can you imagine, little old Sturgeon Bay built boats for all these people?” Parsons said.
After Mihaley’s death, Parsons decided the book should be finished and published, so he worked with Write On, Door County founder and director Jerrod Santak to complete it. Santek edited and proofread the book, and graphic designer Ryan Miller designed not only the cover but also the pages and layout, with Santek publishing the book.
“Jerrod and Ryan, in many ways, made the book professional,” Parsons said.
Parsons put in an initial order for 1,000 books, the minimum required, although he figured he’d never be able to either give away or sell that many. He said the idea was to give copies to former employees and hope to sell at least some of the remaining books.
“We thought we’d end up with 700 books stored in the basement,” he said with a chuckle. “But we just put in an order for another 500 because (the first 1,000) are all gone. We’re getting calls from all over the world about this book.”
The former employees got their first crack at the book during an April 26 luncheon, a kind of reunion, at The Lodge at Leathem Smith in Sturgeon Bay, with Write On hosting a book launch a day later. Parsons said he expected maybe 50 to 100 people to come to the luncheon, but instead, almost 390 former employees and significant others came from all over, not just in Door County but also from around the state and across the country.
That maybe shouldn’t have surprised Parsons, given the family vibe he and his partners strived to establish over the years.
“The reason our boatyard got to be one of the best in the world was because of the people,” Parsons said. “Pretty much every one of (the employees) look back at that as the happiest time of their lives. We held launch parties (for the new boats) with the employees, and they could bring their families and say, ‘I built this.'”
“The Boatyard: How a Rollicking Bunch in Rural Wisconsin Built the Finest Yachts in the World” is available at Novel Bay Booksellers in downtown Sturgeon Bay and at the Door County Maritime Museum in Sturgeon Bay, as well as through the Write On, Door County website. List price is $20.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: New book on Sturgeon Bay boatyard looks at the stories, people behind a top yacht builder
Reporting by Christopher Clough, Green Bay Press-Gazette / Green Bay Press-Gazette
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