Bob's Finished Ace
It took about a year for the rebuild and the result is stunning.
One of my friends, Tom Farr, had restored several old Chris Crafts and came over with several rolls of boot striping left over from one of his projects. It matched the paint scheme perfectly and really set it off.
On E-bay I found a NOS (new old stock) helm without a steering wheel. Ed provided me the measurements for the location of the helm. Seats installed, steering installed, and the boat was done...except for the motor and trailer.
I put the Hood Canal Dunker trailer on Craigslist and it sold in less than one hour. As luck would have it, I found the exact trailer that I wanted, a galvanized King KB 710, hardly used for less than 1/3 the cost of a new one that same day.
I attended the 2009 Sande Ace Rendezvous without a motor...I mean you don't really launch these things do you? Several boats were lined up at the boat launch in boat show fashion. The comments and the comradelier were fantastic. Fun was had by all, and our little Ace looked pretty good - quite a change from the year before.
Ace Rendezvous 2009 at the Twanoh State Park ramp.
Launch day.
I just hoped it would float - without leaking too badly. It ran great, however needed some dialing in such as engine height, tilt, cable adjustments, wedges, etc. I was thrilled with the overall performance.
This was a totally fun project that certainly could not have been done without my Sande Ace fanatic friends, Ed Waali, Ned Hamlin, Master boat builder Tom Regan of Grapeview Point Boat Works, outboard specialist "I do fast, not pretty" John Meyers, my dad Bob Parks Sr., my friend Tom Farr, and my wife Jan. Thanks to you all!
With one of the 1963 Merc 500s on Lake Washington.
