FAQ

What is WINSA?
Are gifts tax deductible?
How big is the USS Canon?
What is a Light Weight Ship?
How much will it cost the City of Sheboygan to bring USS Canon here?
Does WINSA have technical staff expertise to complete this project?
Why does the City of Sheboygan want to own the USS Canon?
Will the USS Canon be successful in Sheboygan?
Who will bear the costs of dredging and will it be done safely?
How can USS Canon teach children that “Freedom Is Not Free?
Will there be a charge to tour the USS Canon?
Will the maintenance and repair costs be high?
What is estimated project cost and where will funds come from?
Is WINSA a Sheboygan organization?
Is there “Grass Roots” Support for the project?
Is there strong support for bringing the USS Canon to Sheboygan?
What Political Leaders have endorsed the project?
Where is WINSA in the project?

What is WINSA?

The Wisconsin Naval Ship Association, Inc. (WINSA) is a charitable organization. The mission of WINSA is to preserve the Navy’s patrol gunboat USS Canon (PG-90) as a historic naval ship and to bring her permanently to Sheboygan, Wisconsin to serve as a veteran's museum, an educational site for young Americans, a tourist attraction, a memorial for all veterans and to preserve military/maritime history. (top)

Are gifts tax deductible?

WINSA is a 501 C (3) tax exempt charitable organization. Donations and other gifts to WINSA are tax deductible as allowed by law. (top)

How big is the USS Canon?

Ship Length 165ft
Ship Width 24ft
Ship Draft at the Keel 5ft
Required Water Depth 7ft (top)

What is a "Light Weight Ship"?

A Light Weight Ship means that WINSA’s Naval Consultant will lower the Canon’s weight by removing all fuel and other unnecessary items so that she rides high in the water when she is brought into Sheboygan to minimize the required water depth. (top)

How much will it cost the City of Sheboygan to bring USS Canon here?

WINSA is not looking for taxpayer funds from the City or County of Sheboygan to support our effort. The city’s contribution to the project is to authorize berthing the ship along the city owned river frontage in the form of a Dock Space Lease Agreement and a Condition Use Permit for the proposed museum space. Both of the authorizations would require approval of Sheboygan’s Common Council. By the terms of the expected agreements, Sheboygan’s risk and financial commitment will be nonexistent. All the risk will be WINSA’s. In the unlikely event that the project were to fail, the Navy requires that WINSA have funds set aside and protected to remove the ship at no cost to the federal government. Through negotiations, the agreements will more than likely clearly specify that removing the Canon will also be at no cost to the city, county or state governments as well. Ship return funds will be protected in an escrow account or some other safe/protected funding arrangement. (top)

Does WINSA have technical staff expertise to complete this project?

No. WINSA will do some of the application itself and will contract with technical experts and firms to provide the expertise required to complete technical sections. To meet the Navy’s minimum requirements, WINSA’s application must cover the following plans: business/financial, mooring, maintenance, towing, environmental and curatorial/museum and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) checklist. WINSA will be totally responsible for the business/financial plan. It will contract for the other sections to meet the Navy’s requirements. (top)

Why does the City of Sheboygan want to own the USS Canon?

The city does not want to own the ship and it will not. After donation approval by the Navy, WINSA will “own” the ship subject to certain limitations imposed by the Navy/WINSA agreement. For example, WINSA will not have the authority to sell the ship and there will be other limitations of “ownership” as well. Even with the limited “ownership” of the USS Canon, the day to day operation and maintenance costs to support the museum ship will remain the responsibility of WINSA and not the City of Sheboygan. (top)

Will the USS Canon be successful in Sheboygan?

Yes. Our calculations show that the USS Canon in Sheboygan will easily draw more than 50,000 visitors annually. The overall project cost and visitor admission fees are being finalized. Our break-even visitor level is expected to be around 40,000 visitors per year. Consequently, to be conservative, our business plan will be formed around the 40,000 visitors. Even at that level of visitation, Wisconsin Department of Tourism formulas estimate a positive $4.5 million dollar financial impact on Sheboygan’s economy. This financial impact is again at no cost or risk to the City or County of Sheboygan. (top)

Who will bear the costs of dredging and will it be done safely?

With the shallow draft of the USS Canon, it is anticipated that dredging will not be required to place the ship in its upriver berth. With a draft of only 5 feet, the minimum water depth for the ship is only 6 or 7 feet. There is a substantial community interest in providing a depth of water of at least 10 feet up to Sheboygan’s Pennsylvania Avenue Bridge (well upriver of the USS Canon’s planned berth) to insure that the Sheboygan River meets Sheboygan’s needs for recreational use. If dredging is required for the Canon (it will be minimal) and if federal or state governmental funds are not available, then WINSA will be responsible for the cost of the dredging and the dredging would be done to satisfy the city’s, the US Army Corps of Engineers, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the US Coast Guard requirements to make sure the dredging is done in the most economical and environmentally safe way. While WINSA will explore state and federal funding as part of our program, we will not be asking the City of Sheboygan or Sheboygan County taxpayer dollars to dredge or complete additional surveys if they are required only to meet WINSA’s needs. (top)

How can USS Canon teach children that “Freedom Is Not Free?

Schools in the area will schedule student day trips to the ship and museum. Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, 4H Clubs, Church Groups, Navy League Sea Cadets and other organizations involved with young Americans will schedule day trips and/or overnight “dock side cruises” to gain experience on what it was like for their brothers, fathers, uncles and grandfathers to serve on board a naval ship. They will be briefed by veterans and other knowledgeable adults on a variety of subjects and will participate in shipboard exercises to learn how a naval ship is operated by the officers and men manning the ship. They will learn that “Freedom Is Not Free” and that it takes dedication, sacrifice, teamwork, professionalism and a well trained crew to deploy a naval ship successfully. (top)

Will there be a charge to tour the USS Canon?

Yes, there will be a nominal charge for touring the ship. Ticket prices are currently being developed and will be incorporated in WINSA’s Business Plan for the USS Canon. The charge for adult individuals will be in the vicinity of $8 to $10. Seniors and children will enjoy reduced fees and military personnel in uniform will tour the ship at no cost. Individual memberships and family memberships will result in savings for multiple visits. (top)

Will the maintenance and repair costs be high?

Our Naval Consultant will provide annual maintenance cost estimates for the USS Canon as part of the Navy’s Ship Donation Application’s Maintenance Plan, but they are not expected to be excessive. With an aluminum hull, being a smaller ship and being moored in fresh water rather than salt water, the maintenance costs are expected to be less. WINSA must maintain the ship to the highest Navy standards or she will be returned to the Navy at our expense. With this in mind, part of the museum staff will perform routine maintenance on the ship on a daily basis. Maintenance or repairs that are beyond the museum staff’s capability and that cannot wait for completion by volunteers will be handled by contract with Sheboygan area firms that have the required skills.

What is estimated project cost and where will funds come from?

The initial estimated cost of the project is around $3 million, but this estimate will be revised as the project progresses and requested budgetary pricing becomes available. (top)

Is WINSA a Sheboygan organization?

Yes! It is also a State of Wisconsin organization. A major goal of WINSA is to increase Sheboygan area resident participation in the organization. Eldon Burg, former Sheboygan Common Council President, has been elected to WINSA’s Board of Directors and is the organization’s Vice President. Other Sheboyganites have expressed interest in serving on WINSA’s Board of Directors and as more of them are elected to board membership, board meetings will be held in Sheboygan. General Meetings are being held in Sheboygan on the second Tuesday of each month and the objective will be to recruit Sheboygan area residents into the organization and into positions of leadership on a priority basis. (top)

Is there “Grass Roots” Support for the project?

A total of 15,000 project support cards were signed for bringing the naval cruiser USS Des Moines to Milwaukee. When the navy scrapped the USS Des Moines, an additional 6,000 support cards had been signed for bringing the naval destroyer USS Edson to Sheboygan and the grand total for both efforts is 21,000 signed support cards. The data contained in these cards forms WINSA’s donor list for funding support by email and US Postal Service solicitations. The “grass roots support” for bringing a historic naval ship to southeastern Wisconsin is definitely in place, it continues to grow and the USS Canon Project benefits from both earlier efforts. (top)

Is there strong support for bringing the USS Canon to Sheboygan?

Yes. At every briefing, the project has been enthusiastically received. There is strong veteran, business and community organizational endorsement of the project to bring a retired naval ship to southeastern Wisconsin with a more than 400 signed on as supporters. This number includes twenty two (22) Sheboygan “neighborhood” businesses expressing support for the USS Canon. The total number of organizations endorsing the concept of bringing a historic naval ship to southeastern Wisconsin is over 400 organizations and these numbers also continue to grow! (top)

What Political Leaders have endorsed the project?

Senator Kohl and Representative Petri recently strongly endorsed the USS Canon effort (WINSA has only been working on the Canon since 23 November 2008) and the others are expected to also express support of the Canon project in the near future. (top)

Where is WINSA in the project?

We have retained a local professional fund raiser and she is moving out smartly. She has aggressively pursued contact with key Sheboygan individuals, area philanthropists, business organizations and foundations and is developing interest, enthusiasm and tentative commitments for major donations. The Navy Ship Donation Review Board met on 12 December 2008 to decide whether to keep the USS Canon on Donation Hold. To support continuing the USS Canon on donation hold, WINSA submitted a strong package of support for continuation. The Navy recently informed WINSA that the Canon remains on Donation Hold. WINSA is developing project costs and reworking its Business Plan. We have built on previous “Neighborhood Business Support” for bringing a naval ship to Sheboygan by signing up 22 new businesses and that support continues to grow! WINSA has much to do, but the community interest and support is developing and the project is picking up momentum to bring the USS Canon to Sheboygan as a historic naval ship! (top)