Summer came to an end as the crowds left the beach, traffic became less of a death race and my family returned to San Antonio. I looked at the orbital sander sitting next to the Farley Boat my teenage son Joey and I were building and felt like more than just a part time resident. I was feeling pretty lonely because they took the dog too.

Our boat building project is possible because of the Port Aransas Historical Association. In an effort to preserve and revive the history of wooden boat building Farley Boat Works was reconstituted in 2011 under the direction and guidance of Rick Pratt.

We are working in the last location where the Farley family built fishing boats, a tin storage building on Avenue C. We have been privileged to learn and assist in the building of our very own Farley boat. There is a reasonable shop fee to pay and the actual cost of materials to construct a boat of your choosing in an actual working museum.

We chose a Texas skiff. This type of flat bottom boat has coursed the back waters and bays for more than 100 years. One down right crazy story is how the Farley brothers would string a half a dozen or so of these skiffs together and tow them out into the Gulf of Mexico, load fishermen into them then set them adrift. Later they would collect those hardy souls and return to port. We will be sticking to the inner coastal waters.

We began in late July and the weeks went by as the progress of the boat went off without a hitch primarily due to the sole employee of Farley Boat Works, Darrell Lynn. Prior to Lynn’s hiring the boats were built entirely by volunteers helping one another. That camaraderie still exists but because of Lynn’s 20 years of wood working experience, there are five boat builds going on now.

There is a two year waiting list. The size of the shop limits the number of boats that can be built at one time. The shop equipment is first class, well maintained and professional due to the generosity of the local supporters. Many of the volunteers like Chuck Tise and Blake Kappel build items for an annual fund raiser. 

Looking at that orbital sander I knew my days and evenings would be filled with the sound of sand paper on wood. But first there was the little matter of some gel coating that wouldn’t cure properly. Not having experience in an area of boat building is not a long term liability unless you don’t try and improve. This is after all a working museum.

Fortunately for the Farley Boat Work’s students shop manager Darrell Lynn is more than willing to step up and try something new. When the gel coating failed to cure in a few small areas he researched what went wrong and found the answer then talked with other builders about the problem we encountered. A lessor boat builder would have tried to keep it quiet.  

So we sanded and smoothed over the thin areas where the gel coating failed then added a two part primer paint as well as two coats of bottom paint. The boat was balanced upside down on some carpeted saw horses for this step. This will become important later on.

Labor Day weekend was approaching as we headed off to the nearest box store. I bought foot powder while the others bought a gas powered barbecue grill. Wendy and Wayne Shack were going to throw a BBQ back at the shop.

The best way to get the word out about something is to have Wendy in charge of letting people know. She can get the news to people quicker with nothing more than a phone.
Denny Larkin and Jerry Gant set up to play guitar in the area around the table saw. Soon they were joined by a soulful harmonica player. 95 year old boat builder Bubba Milina gave the songs sweet depth as he easily played along. After a few songs the crowd closed in as Bubba stunned everyone by singing some old standards from an earlier time. He soon abandoned performing and did the jitterbug with Cam Pratt.

Beers, burgers and blues have a way of relaxing people and this crowd opened up during the evening. Several of the group offered to teach classes over the winter at the boat works. Classes being discussed included wood carving, rock carving, marlin spike rope work and photography to mention a few.

 Work returned to the shop following the weekend break. Our boat was upside down as was the boat being built by Wendy and her husband which they will auction off Oct. 4th at the Abilene Country Club to help find the cure for muscular dystrophy.

Before the break things were a bit loud and messy. Running the length of the interior floor board is a 6 x1 inch board. There is an identical board on the bottom of the boat. These boards give the flat bottom some rigidity and protection.
After fiber glassing and gel coating the bottom they need to be bolted together. This leads to having to drill holes in the bottom of the boat. Scary. First you position the board directly over the interior board. Screw it in place with screws that have some caulking on the threads. Then get under the boat. Hopefully this will be the only time the boat is upside down with you under it.

 Next mark on the interior board drill holes alternating from side to side. Drill a pilot hole at each mark. From the top side a build partner will drill a bolt hole down the pilot hole. From the inside a larger hole drill bit is used to accommodate the bolt, washer and nut. Wear ear plugs and eye protection.

The bolts need to be coated in caulking before they are inserted and after tightening the bolts a caulking line all around the outer board needs to be laid down. Caulking tubes have a pull tab at the end of them that needs to be pulled out. Pulling it out makes the squeeze handle operate a whole lot easier. Just trust me on this.

There is not much more to build out after this. On our boat we will finish out a storage box, anchor box and cutting a couple of upper floor removable boards followed by 100 hours of sanding. I miss my family but I wish the dog was still here.