About Us

Call: 1.740.373.7862

physical location: 601 Front St. Marietta, OH 45750

Email: valleygeminfo@gmail.com

Don took his first trip on the Valley Gem in 1974. He brought his Donald Duck fishing pole with him and asked Captain Sands for permission to fish off the boat. Don began working for the boat in 1985, while attending Ohio University. He got his pilots license in 1989, and was there to help build the newest Valley Gem. Since then, he has navigated the boat up and down the river thousands of times, and is an honorary member of the Sands family. A keen observer, Captain Don can always tell you what is new on the river. His is happy to have visitors in the pilot house and share stories about the river. Incidentally, Don met his wife when she catered lunches on the old Valley Gem. Don’s daughter Mattie was born January 2010. Her first boat ride will be April 2010.

In addition to earning his pilot’s license, J.J. became an A.S.E. Certified Diesel Engine Mechanic and got his Bachelors in Business Management from Marietta College. He met his wife, Katie Markey, on the boat (where else?) in 1996. She worked for the caterer on the Dinner Cruise. Katie graduated from Ohio University in 1998 and they married a few months later. J.J. manages the operations on the boat and Katie manages the office. In 2000 they were blessed with a son, Andy. You may have met him when he was handing out tickets or thanking passengers for riding the boat. In 2005, their daughter Lily entered the world and she has been chatting ever since. Look for her to answer the phone or provide musical entertainment in the future.

Captain J.J. Sands

All of us like to dream about what we would like to do with our lives, but few of us have the determination to carry our dreams to completion. Captain James E. Sands, Sr., and his wife Peggy were an exception to the rule. After much personal sacrifice, they managed to put their first 98 passenger sternwheeler into operation in 1973. They named it the Valley Gem, after a historic packet boat that plied the Muskingum River between Marietta and Zanesville, Ohio during the previous century. It was an immediate success. For more than ten years, he and his oldest son Jimmy Sands, also a licensed pilot, brought pleasure to thousands of passengers with trips on both the Ohio and Muskingum Rivers.

Captain Sands always felt he could improve upon the design of the Valley Gem. He spent a several years designing a brand new boat. With the assistance of his friend, master welder Ivan Arnold, he completed the new Valley Gem Sternwheeler in 1989. It was designated the Flagship of the Muskingum Navy, with Captain Sands as Commodore. Sands specifically designed the boat for the Muskingum River. It has two decks so that it can clear the low bridges. It is not wider so that it fits in the hand-operated locks. It is a well maintained all-weather boat with a heated or air-conditioned lower deck for passenger comfort.

Then, in 1990 on the day of the Sternwheel Festival Races, tragedy struck the Sands family. Jimmy, at 32 years of age, died after a prolonged illness. Captain Sands and his wife Peggy carried on, and in 1992, their youngest son, Jason, known as J.J. became one of the youngest people to obtain his river pilot license. He had just turned 18.

Captain Sands passed away in 1998, after living his dream of being a riverboat captain for 25 years. He knew and loved the rivers, and enjoyed sharing river stories with the passengers. His wife Peggy retired from the business in September 2003. She handled reservations for the boat for almost thirty years. Their son, Captain J.J., now carries on the family tradition, and you can meet him and enjoy a wonderful trip on an authentic sternwheeler here in historic Marietta throughout the summer and fall. He looks forward to seeing you and extending a heartfelt welcome aboard.

Captain Jim Sands

Captain Donald Sandford

What is a sternwheeler? A Sternwheeler is a boat with a wheel at the back, or stern, of the boat.
What is a paddleboat? A boat with one or more wheels. The two types of paddlewheelers are sternwheelers and sidewheelers. Some paddlewheels are just for show. The wheel on the Valley Gem is the real deal.
Size of the Valley Gem: 157 ft. long, 24 1/2 feet wide, weighs 55 net tons, and 80 gross
The Valley Gem is solely propelled via the paddlewheel and has no propellers or thrusters
Paddlewheels are efficient: The Valley Gem is 87% efficient and burns less than 5 gallons of diesel fuel per hour while cruising at 7MPH.
The Valley Gem is powered by a 500 HP 60 Series Detroit Diesel, and electricity is provided by a 40 KW John Deere generator.
The very first Valley Gem (1898 to 1918) was one of the most successful Sternwheel packets to ply the Muskingum River.
Packet (think “pack it”) boats carried people, animals, mail, and goods up and down the river.
People often ask if we have GPS on the boat. The direction of travel on the river is always indicated as Northbound or Southbound also know as up river and down river. The river is relatively narrow and we only travel at 7 miles per hour, so it is hard to get “lost”.

The Valley Gem was built 1988-89 by Ivan Arnold and was designed by James E. Sands. The Valley Gem is 157’ x 25’ (hull 102’ x 24.5’) and weighs 100 tons. The sternwheel is driven by a 12.7 Litre Series 60 Detroit Diesel, which produces 500HP @ 2300 RPM. The engine is coupled to a ZF W325 electronic marine transmission. Total reduction from engine to wheel is 60:1. A 4039 John Deere 40 KW Marathon generator provides electricity. The Valley Gem is air conditioned by two 5 ton Carrier units, and is baseboard heated. She carries 1700 gallons of diesel, and 360 gallons of fresh water.

The boat and barge were drydocked for the 5 year hull inspections November 2007.

Valley Gem