As a kid 6 or 7 spending summers in the 1950s on Dolphin Beach, I watched with envy while the older kids (Jan, Walle, Jack, Patti, et al.) often waterskied behind one of Jan's hydros or Pete Beeson's Merc runabout.
Me and a few others (Ken, Mike, Tom,) would stand at the waters edge begging for rides when the skiing ended. We usually got quick ride at day's end which was thrilling, unforgettably-locked in my childhood memories. I dreamed of how cool it would be to build a real hydro like Jan Ralkowski and race up and down Dolphin Beach.
Fast forward 60 years. Now retired from business and being a life-long boater, I spotted a small classic 50's-60's runabout on the internet. It was love at first sight. My mind went right back to those Dolphin Beach days begging for rides. The boat was called an Ace, 13 feet long and designed for an outboard motor of that era. Originally built on Hood Canal by the Sande Boat Works, they became very popular as the 'Sande Ace'. Here now was my opportunity to fulfill an old childhood dream.
I began re-habing my Dadıs old workshop on the
beach located adjacent to our family beach home (formerly Monie and Wowie
Hawkins place). I had a little carpentry experience but nothing involving
boat building. With advice from a few Sande Ace veterans and YouTube, I
started building in January 2017.