Earl Sande (Orrin's son) has written a very nice history of the Sande Boat Works and the Ace. The start was also described by Rosie Atkinson (Ed's aunt!) in her article for the January, 1990 issue of Nor'westing magazine.
"All the while Orrin was in the Army, he was sending home money and asking his father to sock it away so he could start his own business when he got out. In 1947 Orrin finally took his nest egg and started taking orders for cedar strip boats, building them on the property across the road from the family home on the North Shore." Rosie Atkinson, 1990
Click to see Chuck Muller's Sande cedar fishing boat,
Orrin's favorite, at the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival.
Ned's photos from early 1990s.
The old Sande Boat Works showroom/shop in 2006.
"Al was the first to go in with his brother. Then their dad quit his job in the sheet metal shop at the yard and joined the company. Orders increased and they eventually were forced to expand the little business. In the early 50s they developed a design for a 12' fiberglass work boat that the U.S. Navy took a liking to. The Navy bought the design which they called a 'wherry,' and there was a big write-up in the local paper (Bremerton Sun) that told how seaworthy the boat was and that it would be seen all over the world."
"In the late 50s they developed a design for a mahogany plywood runabout they named the Sande Ace. In the years to follow the Ace became a familiar sight on the waters of Hood Canal and its fame ultimately spread to Seattle via the many families who owned summer places on the Canal. Advance Outboards, which later became Bayliner, sold most of the Sande Aces on that side of Puget Sound. The company also got a large order for the boats from Sekiu. Just recently Allan said he was approached by a man who said his father got a Sande Ace for him when he was a youngster, and now he'd like to get one for his own son. Al was sorry to have to tell the guy that he had no plans to go back into the boat building business. He also heard recently that someone on the Canal had started collecting old Sande Aces, but couldn't verify that story."
"In 1960 they essentially got out of building boats and moved the shop to Belfair..... Sande Boat Works went out of the family in 1975 but still carries the family name." Rosie Atkinson, 1990
We think the Sandes returned to the Boat Works to make a few Aces into 1962 according to one hull number, probably upon special request. Now and then, a rumor that someone planned to make a Sande Ace commercially popped up. We are happy that the Grapeview Point Boat Works has taken the challenge and stretched the original 12 foot design to closely resemble the Sande Ace!
