a couple more Welsford boats on the mid-atlantic

There has got to be an interesting story behind the boat below.  It is a John Welsford Navigator called Bangarang!.  I've never gotten the details of the story and as I do a lot of trailering with my boat I'm not sure I want to hear them anyway.  

The boat was purchased by Andy, from North Carolina, from Maine.  I've emailed with Andy a couple of times over the last few years, he tried to connect with us on the Skeeter Beater but it did not work out. A few months ago I get this email from him saying he had bought this boat and was having it shipped down from Maine and did I, by chance, know a marine surveyor that could provide "a fair market value" for the boat.  The shipper, he said, was in an accident and was awaiting an "at fault" adjuster estimate.  Ouch!

The next email I got from his was a few months later with the photo above attached.  It looks like he got it down to North Carolina and had whatever repairs needed taken care of.  I don't know the details of the accident or repair, just glad to see another Welsford boat on my part of the coast.

I'm also hearing that there is another Welsford boat in the works in South Carolina.  This is a Pilgrim being built by Chip near Charleston.  He says he hopes to have it on the water this summer.  There aren't that many Pilgrims in the world right now, I wonder if this is the first one here in the U.S.

 John came out with the Pilgrim design a few years after the Pathfinder.  I've looked them over and it strikes me that the Pilgrim is a Pathfinder on steroids.  It is about a foot shorter than the Pathfinder, but built much stronger with a lot more ballast.  With a keel, steel centerboard and cutter rigged she must be a solid sailor.   Plenty of space for two to sleep and, as typical with John's boats, plenty of room for storage.  John says he was combining smaller boat design elements with some ideas from his bigger, offshore boats.  It looks to me like it worked out pretty well.

I read where John once described the Pathfinder as a sports car while the Pilgrim was a 4x4.  That may be true, I wrote John, but in that case I've had my Corvette off road more than a few times.

Chips, the boat looks great.  I can't wait to see some photos of her on the water this summer.

Andy, enjoy the Navigator.

steve