Views of the Neighborhood

~ John W. Howell

Port Aransas has a long history with a particular boat named after its designer and builder Charles Frederick Farley. The boat was initially needed to handle the choppy waters of the Gulf while fishing for Tarpon. In 1915 the Farley and Son Boat Builders company was founded with the idea of building unique boats in Port Aransas for the rough waters of the Gulf and Tarpon fishing. These boats had a large bow to break the waves and relatively low sides to make fishing easier.

Here is a famous picture of President Roosevelt catching a Tarpon from a Farley boat.

Farley boat

The Tarpon eventually ran out, and the Farley Boat Works stopped building boats.

Today Port Aransas keeps the spirit of the Farley Boat alive through the Farley Boat Works Museum (which we will visit another time) and cement Farley Boats scattered around town.

This post will give you an idea of some of the Farley boats on display.

The first shows a boat that the owner painted to match the  house

Farley Boat

This next one is in front of a business which I featured a couple of Sunday’s ago. All pink indeed blocks out the boat name.

Farley Boat

I love this next one since it is in front of a person’s house. Notice the water waves at the bottom of the boat and the beware of dog sign on the fence. (I sure did) The flowers are lovely.

Farley Boat

This next one is in front of the newspaper office and has some plants as well as a partially hidden cat ready to have some fish. You can also tell by the color of the grass in these pictures that we have not had any rain since early June.

Farley Boat

This one is interesting in that the owner painted it to look like wood and then loaded it with rocks. (which don’t require much water)

Farley Boat

This next one is also painted to look like wood and has a beautiful turquoise deck.

Farley Boat

These next three are along the road wich leads to Robert’s Point Park. The last of the three is quite colorful.

Farley Boat IMG_0173 IMG_0175

This boat is outside the Chamber of Commerce. Hard to believe these boats are made out of concrete isn’t it?

IMG_0177

The next three are in front of businesses.

Farley Boat IMG_0184 IMG_0186

The final boat for this tour is in front of the cutest house that is under remodel. A little bit of the porch is visible.

Farley Boat

I hope you liked the Farley Boat tour.

 

46 thoughts on “Views of the Neighborhood”

  5. John, I can’t pin down what it is, but this is one of your best Sunday posts. The board of tourism, chamber of commerce — whatever — should be paying you. Sharing all around.
    Have a sublime Sunday, and mega hugs!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Aw, thank you Teagan. I really appreciate the compliment. As you are well aware it is hard to come up with things that just might be of interest to those who don’t live here. Big Hug for this!!!! 🙂

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  6. Vibrant colors in these pictures, John. I agree with Teagan. The local chamber of commerce should appreciate you more with some gratuity. Maybe they could supply you with a book of coupons for free business services or meals at the restaurants, etc. 😀 — Suzanne

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  8. Hey, John, you really outdid yourself with these great photos! Your Port Aransas is really an interesting place to see – I understand why you decided to settle there! Thanks for the interesting post!

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  9. It’s awesome they were made of concrete. I seem to remember someone used it for larger boats too at one time. These boats look really tiny for ocean going. Not the one with Roosevelt, but the ones that have been repurposed. Really sad about the tarpon.

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      1. I totally bought the idea of concrete boats. I seem to remember something about someone making boats that were somewhat disposable. It could have been merchant ships for WWII. Concrete and water are not friends, but will hold up for a while.

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  11. Our grass looks just about like yours. Again, lack of rain (though we’re trying to remedy that this weekend!). Love the Farley Boats, especially the one with the turquoise deck, the seashells, and those gorgeous red petunias(?). Lovely tour for a Sunday, John!

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  13. What a great blog, John! I loved the story, the photos, the history… And, this is the first I’ve heard of the Farley boats… I’m going to reblog this post!

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  14. I love your Farley boats. We have flying pigs all over the Greater Cincinnati area. They are fun to see, but the Farley boats can double as planters filled with local flowers.

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