Legacy lives on

NEWPORT BEACH — Ten years after the death of Newport boat builder Al Larson, the business he began was taken over this week by his protégé and unofficial “adopted son,” Evaristo “Abe” Parra.

A long-time fixture in the boating community, Parra was taken under Larson’s wing in 1980 as a teenager. He was given work scraping boat hulls and swabbing decks.

For the next two decades, Parra, now 48, learned everything there is to know about boat building from the man whose copper and granite memorial stands in front of the shipyard along West Coast Highway.

“I wanted somebody whose name people would recognize and trust,” said Ted Robertson, one of three owners of the property, Larson Group LLC.

Robertson is the man responsible for erecting the monument of Larson. The shipyard was first opened in 1947.

“Abe isn’t a man of many words, but he looks at a boat and immediately knows what’s wrong with it,” Robertson said. “In two sentences, he will tell you what’s wrong and what needs to be done. People know they can trust him.”

Robertson and his partner took over the property in 1978, while Larson remained in control of the shipyard operations for several more years before selling the business to subsequent tenants of the shipyard complex.

As Parra learned the tricks of boat hauling and painting under his mentor, he and Larson talked of one day turning over the reins to Parra, but for one reason or another, it never seemed possible.

At least until now.

To help, Robertson has invested $30,000 into remodeling and repairs at the shipyard and on adjacent grounds, which had fallen into disrepair, he said.

The shipyard was closed briefly in July when it was discovered that the steel tracks used to transport boats out of the water were bent at the farthest-most point under the water.

The previous tenant had the tracks evaluated and concluded that soil erosion had caused the damage. And, at a $100,000 price tag, it was too expensive to fix.

However, Dixon and Robertson do not agree as to what caused the temporary closing of the shipyard.

Robertson said an operating error, which caused the cradle to come off the tracks, led to the metal bending — not any problems with the sediment.

While city officials were unable to verify to the Daily Pilot whether there was any actual soil erosion, as the previous tenant said, Parra has already fixed the tracks.

Last month the tenant, Nancy Dixon, took her businesses, Depth Perceptions Inc. and Dixon Yacht International, to a new location on 17th Street in Costa Mesa.

Larson’s will haul up its first boat, a 45-foot sailboat, under the watch of the newest chief operator in two weeks, Roberson said.

The event will bring Parra full circle, from the day he arrived at the shipyard as a struggling young man from Mexico, to finally realizing the dream his mentor and father figure had prepared him for.

Parra’s son, Dennis Parra, 19, is about the same age his father was the first time he walked along the Newport waterfront.

Of his four children, Dennis had shown the most interest in the business, Parra said.

“One day, if he likes it, it would be nice to see him do it,” Parra said.