Ace

William D. Jackson drew the original Ace in 1956 for the Boat Builder's Handbook published by Science and Mechanics, where he was boating editor and produced a long line of plans for amateur builders. It was billed as a fast two-cockpit outboard runabout for towing water skiers and general family use, 12 ft 4 in long with a 5 ft 9 in beam. The plans, issued as Craft Print No. 233, claimed 32 mph with a 16 hp outboard and 50 mph with a 40 hp racing motor, figures the boat's modern enthusiasts treat with some suspicion.

She is plywood on frames, with a 1/4 in plywood bottom, three transom knees, and Jackson's signature bevelled chines, which he credited with allowing safe turns at speed. The subassembly method was also meant to suit production building, and the Sande brothers used it on Hood Canal before stretching the boat to 13 ft as the Sande Ace. Owners still build from these plans, and several new 12 ft examples exist. In the drawings Jackson warns, as the old professor of Bilge Water Academy, that a flat run aft is what stops the boat galloping.