Baytown Briefs (Baytown, Tex.), Vol. 05, No. 14, Ed. 1 Friday, April 5, 1957 Page: 4 of 4
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Baytown Briefs • April 5, 1957
Page 4
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Baytown Is Natural' Boating Area
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Impatience, Curiosity Pays Off For Farra;
He Now Has Own Modern Prop Repair Shop
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life y S
it was strictly a means of trans-
portation. used mostly for hunt-
ing and fishing. Now, two-tone
color styling and sharper looks in
general have the ladies flocking
to the water as never before, and
it has become a means of trans-
portation to new picnic grounds,
water skiing, and family outings.
Outboard rigs are, by far,
the most popular boating outfits
in Baytown. They can easily be
transported overland to any de-
sired body of water, and the
storage problem is solved by
keeping them at home when not
in use. Present day outboard
motors, unlike early models, give
dependable, quiet-running, trou-
ble-free propulsion. Power ranges
all the way from % to 60 h.p-
and include full gearshift, re
mole control, remote fuel tank,
and electric starling. Some unit-
even generate their own elec-
tricity for battery charging:
lights and other boating appli-
ances.
Boating has never had it s0
good before, and that’s the rea-
son it is so popular in Baytown
now.
and rake, acetylene welding
equipment, soft hammers, files
and power sanders. He not only
knows all the “trade secrets,” but
has developed a unique one of
his own. Through trial and error
he has discovered a technique for
changing the pilch and rake in
cast aluminum props, something
none of the regular repair shops
will attempt. The combination of
Bob’s impatience and curiosity
has finally paid off, both for him-
self and his boating friends as
well. Now he takes care of their
problems loo, whether they are
going water skiing, fishing, or
just boating for fun.
I he use of a hammer is a big help in pounding out the solution to
a problem—a propeller problem, that is. However, Bob Farra above
has found that it also requires other equipment, such as the pitch
block he is using and those shown on his left, to do a precision iol
on propeller repairs. -
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When R. L. (Bob) Farra,
Electric, started water skiing
about seven years ago, he
didn’t find it hard to master
the art of skimming over the
water on the slender strips of
wood under his feel. It was a by-
product of this sport that proved
to be a real problem. It took sev-
eral years and a lot of research
for him to learn how to repair
the propeller on his outboard mo-
tor when it became bent or dam-
aged from hilling underwater ob-
stacles while he was waler skiing.
Impatience and curiosity
were the direct causes of Bob’s
determination to learn to do his
own prop repairs. At the lime he
became interested in developing
a “do-it-yourself” solution to this
problem, he only had one propel-
ler for his motor. Every lime it
became damaged and had to be
sent to a regular repair shop,
there was a delay of several
weeks before he got it back and
could use his outboard rig again.
In fact, there were only nine
such repair shops in all of Texas
and Louisiana. His curiosity grew
when he started checking and
found there was no information
on the subject available to the
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required by Stale law. This includes a securely
fastened safety chain (inset picture), side mirror
on the car. and a regular tail light for traveling at
night. Also the trailer hitch should be fastened to A L
the frame of the car. A clamp-on bumper hitch is U |
illegal. And remember—for your own safety as
well as the economy of your pocketbook, the speed
limit of a car pulling a trailer is 45 miles per hour.
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layman. No books had been writ-
ten, and all “trade secrets” were
jealously guarded by those in the
business. It was a simple matter
to pound out a dent or bent blade
of a propeller made of malleable
metal, but repairing it after it
had been broken, balancing il, or
changing the pilch and rake, re-
quired special tools and knowl-
edge. That was what Farra
wanted and finally found.
In his search for informalion
on the subject, Bob discovered
the address of the only company
in the United States that makes
tools for repairing boat propel-
lers. The owner of the firm, a
Swedish immigrant who came to
this country in 1904 and started
the business four years later, be-
came sympathetic to Bob’s prob-
lem when he wrote to him di-
rectly, asking for help, and has
since become a good friend and
consultant through correspond-
ence. As a result of this long-
distance acquaintanceship, Bob
now has a home shop well
equipped with such lools of the
trade as pitch blocks, testing
equipment for measuring pilch
u
The extensive use of outboard rigs which are
transported to and from the waler on trailers
pulled by cars, makes boating safely just as im-
portant on land as on the water. In the pictures
above, Carpenter Lester Plocheck is typical of the
many Refinery employees who haul their boats in
this manner, and is shown taking some of ihe
necessary precautions—not only for safety, but as
1957 Houston Boat, Sports and
Travel Show opening at the Sam
Houston Coliseum tomorrow,
April 6, at 1 p.m., where they
can get a close-up view of the
latest products in the boating-
fishing-outdoors field.
In addition to Baytown be-
ing a “natural” for boating, with ,
its easy access to lakes, rivers, |
bays. and the Gulf, there are sev- '
eral other reasons for the surge ,
of interest in this sport in recent
years. One is that boating outfits
have become more attainable to
more people. Good limes and the
widespread availability of boats I
and boating equipment on in-
stallment terms from the widest
selection ever offered has made
it easy for anyone to launch out
on a boating career. They can
pay as they cruise. Another rea-
son is that boating has been
made appealing to the entire 1)
family. There was a time when
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IT TAKES A BOAT TO CATCH 'EM
Even with the rising interest in racing, water skiing, and
family outings, fishing still forms the major use of boating
in this area. In the picture above, M. R. Francis, No. 1 Cal,
shows how his boat paid off in following this sport last Fri-
day. Taking a good look at his catch of 13 speckled trout and
one red fish are Jeffery and Karl Martin, from left. The fish
are a fascinating sight to the two youngsters, sons of John
Martin, Plant artist, because "Daddy" doesn’t own a boat
and, as a result, doesn’t bring in catches like this.
Francis made this fine catch of fish last Friday after-
noon, between 1 and 4 p.m., on plugs in Trinity Bay. Total
weight was 68 pounds and 10 ounces. The two largest trout
weighed seven pounds each, and the red fish weighed five
pounds. All of them were caught on mirrolure plugs.
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Have you ever noticed the
number of boats on trailers
being pulled behind cars as
you travel to or from work
here in the Refinery? Of course
you have, because more l han
likely you have a rig of your
own that you automatically com-
pare with the other fellow's when
you meet or pass him on the
road. From the number in evi-
dence, it is easy to assume ihal
boating is the most popular year-
round recreation in Baytown,
and has become as common
as two cars lo a family. For this
reason, many Refinery employees
will be interested in seeing the
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Baytown Briefs (Baytown, Tex.), Vol. 05, No. 14, Ed. 1 Friday, April 5, 1957, newspaper, April 5, 1957; Baytown, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1417601/m1/4/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Sterling Municipal Library.