Waali's 1959 Sande Ace
Hull Number: 3596 (6th Ace built in March, 1959)
Team Waali 2005
with three of four generations who have taken the helm of this Sande Ace.
My parents, Eero and Olla Waali, bought a new Sande Ace in 1959. The boat was about $500
and the Mercury Mark 35A was also about $500. The trailer was thrown in for free
as a "Bremerton Boat Show Special." Dad had considered what I think was a
Seaswirl P-14.
I was happy then and ecstatic later when he chose the Ace. One reason for buying it was that our neighbor on Hood Canal was Orrin Sande.
The Mark 35A was strong enough to pull three young waterskiers at the community "Pearson Picnic" in 1959. Waterskiing beyond the glare of a setting sun and, sometimes, into darkness was not unusual at that time.
The Ace made a great backdrop for family photos. It came with a water ski mirror on the center deck. A coiled ski rope is hanging from it in this photo.
Nephew David straddles the bow of the new Ace. The Plexiglas window
was in the way while folks got in and out from the beach. It developed a crack (see it?) and was
removed in the first year. If you see a windshield, the photo was taken in the summer of '59. Also, we did not get our registration numbers (WN 793A) until 1960.
The dual cockpit model has a sporty look. More important, it puts the weight of the driver
in the rear where the bottom is flat. This helps to keep the bow with its shallow vee out
of the water and increases the speed of the Ace.
But, the mostly flat bottom slaps the waves when the
wind blows. The Ace might go faster in a small chop but zipping along in perfectly calm water is like sweet music to me.
The color scheme of was boat is white with blue lower panel and stripes.
I remember one parked in a garage near old Swanson's grocery that was white with a pink panel and stripes.
Another popular scheme used varnished mahogany and
paint trim.
In 1985, the Mark 35A was replaced with a freshwater 1960 Merc 400 with 10 additional horsepower.
The fog burns off for our Sande Ace on Hood Canal.
This looks towards Bald Point and Mt. Washington in the Olympic Mountains
from Union on Hood Canal. The bucket in the front of our Sande Ace says that we have been crabbing at the Tahuya flats.
When the Mark 35A had seen the best of its service, we bought a freshwater 1960 Merc 400.
We used the Ace for a few more years until we bought a Bayliner. When Ned Hamlin and
I contacted each other, I got excited about our Ace but I couldn't find the Merc 400 no matter where I
looked. Who would steal such an old motor?
So we spent $200 total for a Mark 58A, another Merc 400 and a Merc 450, all white four-cylinder motors from 1959 to 1962 which would make a Sande Ace proud.
I was staring at the these motors and the Mark 35A in our small garage and thought "Where am I going
to put these four motors? Ah, my friend Ed has a big garage/shop and would let me store
them there."
It immediately came to me. That's where the missing Merc is!
I now had five!! My wife thinks
it was a scam and not faulty memory, my usual defense.
I modified an engine stand to hold the best three motors. The 1962 Merc 450 in the middle was clearly in the best shape and started on the sixth pull in a garbage can with water in Fall 2004. Of course, it was also the only one of the five that had a long shaft and the Sande Ace needed a short shaft. So, after swapping some parts and getting the lower unit rebuilt, I had a motor to race Ned.
Click for more about these old Mercury outboard motors.
