Local organizations have until nid August to apply for a piece of the Sand Man, the 116-year-old tugboat that helped define Olympia's working waterfront and became a fixture of the city's Harbor Days tradition.

The Port of Olympia announced July 22, that it is accepting applications from organizations, businesses and institutions to become stewards of historic artifacts salvaged from the vessel. Individuals are not eligible. Each applicant may receive only one artifact.

"Our goal is to ensure that pieces of the Sand Man continue telling the story of Olympia's maritime history for generations to come," Mike Reid, the Port's community and economic development director, said in the announcement.

What's available

The Port published a full inventory of more than 30 items pulled from the tugboat. Highlights include a 46-inch-diameter propeller, two name boards, a smoke stack bearing the original 1910 construction date, a 23-foot aft mast, a 17-foot foremast, Harbor Days plaques from 2019 and 2022, a compass light with compass, a searchlight, four red cleats and three bronze light fixtures.

Some pieces are massive. The aft winch weighs 500 to 700 pounds; the bow windlass tips the scales at 300 to 550 pounds. Displaying those will require institutional muscle.

How to apply

A Sand Man Artifact Review Committee will evaluate applications on five criteria: public accessibility, historic significance, preservation capability, educational value and community benefit. Applicants will be notified by phone and email after the deadline.

The artifact inventory is posted at portolympia.com. For questions, contact the Port at (360) 528-8000 or [email protected].

Why the Sand Man can't be saved

Arthur Weston of Olympia Sand and Gravel Company commissioned the tugboat's construction in 1908; she was completed in 1910 at the Crawford and Reid Shipyard in Tacoma from old-growth Douglas fir.

At 58.5 feet, she spent nearly eight decades hauling sand, gravel, log rafts and oyster barges across South Puget Sound.

The Sand Man ran the first race at the inaugural Olympia Harbor Days Festival in 1974 and became the event's unofficial mascot. Her image served as the festival's logo tug in 1983. She was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 6, 1998.

But the vessel was pulled from the water in May 2023 for maintenance, and the deterioration proved too severe. At an April 13, 2026, City of Olympia Heritage Review Committee meeting,

Reid explained that three years out of the water caused the hull's old-growth wood to contract, creating damage beyond repair. About $500,000 had already been spent on restorations between 1999 and 2005, including a $300,000 state transportation grant.

The Sand Man Foundation, the nonprofit that had owned the vessel since 1997, subsequently dissolved, and ownership transferred to the Port. A July 2025 auction of the vessel drew no bidders.

Aaron LaPointe, executive director of the Historic Maritime Foundation and a preservation partner in the artifact process, said at the April 2026 heritage committee meeting that artifacts could end up in local parks with commemorative plaques, restaurants or the downtown history museum. "They should be on display for the public to enjoy at some level, whether it is at a restaurant, in a park or in a museum," LaPointe said at that meeting.

The Port has not confirmed whether artifact distribution will coincide with Harbor Days, held Labor Day weekend on the Olympia waterfront. The application deadline is Saturday, August 15.