ARANSAS COUNTY, Texas — A family heirloom, passed down to Caleb Harris from his grandfather, was repaired and unveiled to the Harris family on the morning of Saturday, March 15.
The owner of Fisher's of Men Welding and Trailer Repair in Rockport, Scott Webb, is longtime friends with the Harris family. After hearing of the devastating news of Caleb's disappearance in March 2024, Webb wanted to do something special for the Harris family.
As Caleb was a lover of being on the water and fishing, his father, Randy, reached out to Webb to get the 1965 model boat repaired. But little did Randy know that Webb's team would repair the boat in the most special way.
"When I heard about what happened to Caleb, I immediately recognized that his dad was my high school friend in New Braunfels," Webb said. "Shortly after Caleb was found, Randy, brought the boat for us to repair. We decided that we wanted to do something for that family that they'll never forget."
The repairs on the boat included replacing the paint, adding fiberglass flooring, additional lights and implementing seat cushions for comfortability.
"This situation was so tragic and to be able to do anything to make Caleb’s spirit continue and honor God in our process, that’s what it meant to us," Webb added.
The crew that helped repair the boat said it was an honor to work on the project.
"We put a lot of time and love into the boat," employee Daniel Powell said. "You can the work was done with love. I've never seen anything like it and I am happy to be part of this."
"We all took a lot of pride in the project. When we heard of the story, I have kids of my own, and I could only imagine," employee Travis Mitchell said. "We put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into this and we're glad the family liked it."
"It was one of the most beautiful things that we've ever done here. It was probably the best project that has come out of this shop," employee Arnold Garcia, said.
Randy, Caleb's father, and his father-in-law, Ted Wright, became emotional as they viewed the details of the finished boat. With tremendous gratitude, the Harris family thanked the Fisher's of Men team and believe this will be a lasting memory of the one thing Caleb loved to do —fish.
"It's so amazing. I was not expecting this." Randy said. "For them to take on a project that Caleb and his friends got started, I am shocked at the craftsmanship. Caleb could have gone out and got something on the market. But he wanted this family heirloom. And it's amazing to have something like this that belonged to him [Ted] and his father."
Ted, Caleb's grandfather, expressed the boat was given to him by his father. He and his father would reel in catfish often and create memories on the water. To pass the boat down to Caleb and see him take pride in it, Ted told KRIS 6 News that it made him feel good.
"Just to see it today, the detailed work that they've done to it to make it look better than the original, it's basically better than new," Ted added.
The family was gifted the boat free of charge.
Randy said he and Ted will take the boat back to New Braunfels, where they live, and will pass it down to Caleb's sister.
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