Farley Boat Works
History of the Farley Boat Works
Farley Boat Works FaceBook Page
Established 1916 – Re-established 2011
What the visitor will see and do
Visitors enter the building located at 716 Avenue C and immediately see the restored Farley tarpon boat Tina. The craft is currently on a trailer but will be blocked in place with a viewing platform beside so all interior details can be viewed.
Exhibits about the boats and their part in making our town a famous fishing destination are displayed along with tools from the era. A comprehensive exhibit about the role of boats in the life of Port Aransas takes the visitor from the early days of dugouts to the newest ferry in our fleet.
A small office and bathroom facility is in the center part of the building and a very wide hall leads to the boat shop.
The sounds of the boat shop can be heard as soon as a visitor enters the museum. Visitors see the shop in action and watch boats being built. Thus the shop is a living exhibit.
Starting the Process
We have begun the process of teaching boat building by training several teachers. Doyle Marek, who created and then ran the boat building program at the Port A schools, is our head trainer. He is teaching a select group of folks to build a Port A skiff. These simple but highly useful boats are distinct and unique to our island.
Once this process is understood and we have built a boat or two to see how our shop functions, we will expand to offering classes to the public who want to build a skiff for themselves.
Next step is to re create the small rowing/sailing skiffs that were so common during the Tarpon Texas era. This fleet of boats will be available for use at the City Marina during the “season”. And finally, we will tackle building a Farley Tarpon boat. Stay tuned.
If you’d like to take part in any of the projects call Rick Pratt at 361-549-6328.
Follow these links to the South Jetty’s reporting of how it has all come about: (please note recent articles won’t be open to the public until 2 weeks after publication unless you are a subscriber to the South Jetty)
PAPHA purchases old Farley boat building
Winter Texan lends expertise
Rebirth of boat works
Salvaging history
Moving In
Farley building to reopen Tuesday
Nautical Knowledge
