No bidders emerge for historic tugboat that used to host tours on Olympia’s waterfront

The future of the Sandman, a 60-foot wooden tugboat that sits high and dry at the Port of Olympia’s boat yard, is no brighter after a public auction Wednesday morning failed to attract any bidders.

The boat was hauled out of the water two years ago for repairs, but in the interim the foundation created to support the Sandman dissolved and there the boat sat, untouched and racking up unpaid rent in the process, according to the port.

Bids were set to start at around $26,000, said Zack Belew, the boat yard foreman.

Before the Sandman was pulled out of the water, it had hosted public tours at Percival Landing and participated in maritime events such as Harbor Days.

About a half-dozen people showed up to observe the Wednesday morning auction, including two former board members of the Sandman Foundation.

Kyle Murphy served in multiple roles before he left the group in 2008 because of the birth of his daughter, he said. He acknowledged that the boat required regular maintenance, but the bigger challenges were the cost of insurance and fuel and the talent needed to make certain repairs.

“Once it started aging a little bit, and some of the maintenance became more specialized, like replacing planks or replacing decking, you know, that was the kind of stuff that we didn’t really have the volunteer capacity to do,” he said. “And you know, that kind of maintenance requires somebody with real skills. And so I think that’s part of the struggle with any of these foundations and organizations that operate these old wooden vessels.”

Former board member Tom Pearson showed up out of “morbid curiosity,” he said.

“I was present when they brought it out of the water in 2023 and I didn’t realize it was going to be like this,” he said. “It looked better at that time.”

Both said they hope a buyer emerges for the Sandman.

“I’d love to see somebody else come in and, you know, a benefactor come in, buy it and restore it, you know, either for putting it back in the water or displaying on land,” Murphy said.

Pearson agreed.

“I’d love to see it back in tip-top shape, like it was 20 years ago, and in the hands of an owner that’s either a nonprofit or a private owner that has the money to keep it up,” he said. “You kind of hate to throw something away.”

Prior to the auction, there was a group from Everett, similar to the Sandman Foundation, that examined the vessel, boat yard foreman Belew said. But they came to the conclusion that it would take about $500,000 to restore the 60-foot tug, he said.

What happens now?

There is a 10-day grace period that follows the auction and then ownership of the Sandman reverts to the port.

“If we own it, it could allow us to do other things, like find a non-profit partner that we could ultimately dedicate to them,” said Mike Reid, the port’s community and economic development director, in previous comments to The Olympian.

“I think that’s a likely process scenario. But we can’t really do anything with the boat right now because it’s not our boat.”