Coming over from the Rag side of boating life

I have been lurking here on TF for a while as I contemplated embracing my desire for creature comforts and allowing for my declining physical abilities. Perhaps mental abilities also.....! But thanks to the kind and wise folks who post here giving me a feel for cruising under power I have come over from the dark side! I purchased the last Pilgrim 40 built. I am getting to know it by examining her from stem to stern. I like what I see so far! I actually think that I really bought a sailboat that they forgot to put the full length mast on! Which is just fine with me. I'm getting a little too old to fool with all those silly ropes and bed sheets every time I want to go somewhere anyway! Just hit that starter button and let that Westerbeke purr along as I sit warm and dry in the pilothouse with a coffee and chart plotter to keep me company! No more cries of "REEF THE MAIN!" and stumbling around on a tilting deck in the rain. Now it will be "Hey Babe, can you make me a sandwich and bring me a nice cold beer!" while listening to some Bach. I am going to keep a little rag bagger experience though with my little Trinka dinghy. Looking forward to many smooth miles cruising the protected waters of Florida and then up the ICW to New England next summer. This is a great Forum! Glad to be a part of it!

Welcome aboard Billyfeet.

Two sweet boats Billyfeet, Pilgrim and the Trinka. Obviously a man with good taste.

Welcome to the dark side, Craig

Nice looking boat! I hope she serves you well. Gotta love the Pilgrims! Congrats.

Greetings,
Mr. bf. You sir are an intelligent man.

Welcome aboard Billy! It's nice to have another Florida boy around.
You can tell that RTF is nuts from his post but he's also smart.
If you've been lurking you know not to use the A word or the G word. You'll start a never ending thread. These guys just love to talk about anchors and guns. Oh no! I said them!

I do love those Trinkas. They're made up there near you.

I know the feeling Billyfeet. After 2 yachts, which we enjoyed a lot when younger, it is so nice to be able to just walk on board, stow your stuff, pack the frig, turn a key, toss off the lines, and just head off. And if the wind gets up and rain appears...well..you just close the windows, and get comfy at the helm with hot cuppa.

Billy, I know the feeling. I cut 5 feet off my mast when I bought her in order to get under the fixed bridges in our vicinity and stowed the sail away, likely never to be used again. I don't miss it. Welcome to the dark side!!

Billy, the feeling is mutual. I, however, elected to have vestigial sails on my trawler.

Mark, I do have a short mast on my Pilgrim. And will probably hoist my wife's bra occasionally if caught in a beam sea........it should stiffen the ride considerably.

Mark also has a Trinka...sans the bed linens.

Greetings,
Mr. HC. One of these days I'm going to visit your store. You won't know who I am until I ask for my MASSIVE, did I say MASSIVE discount. Yup, nuts and SMART! Someday, somewhere when you least expect it.....

RTF, I look forward to the moment.
Cocoanuts is playing at a drive in theater here in Miami on July 14th. I think I'll try to go.

Those are two sweet boats, welcome!

We won't hold that sailing thing against you. In fact, I have a lot of respect for anyone who actually DID sail. We pass so many cruising sailboats with bare poles, and we always wonder why they didn't just buy a trawler in the first place if they were going to motor everywhere.

In theory I could rig a steadying sail on my mast and boom, but I don't have one. Not sure I'm ready to try your solution tho...

Thought this was appropriate.

So cute! Congrats

Can't do much better than a Pilgrim! Rags to richness, I'd say. (Hey, that's a pretty good name for your boat).

Hope to share lots with your journeys. We've got a pretty sizable Florida contingent of TF here, and growing. Maybe we otta do a TF Rendezvous in Okeechobee.

You sir, have great taste.

Welcome aboard!

You'll find a lot of former stickboat people here and they are a lot of help. And it is easier to cruise a powerboat than a ragboat but not quite as sexy. Not quite as heeled. Not quite as wet. Not quite so close to the water. Not quite so uncomfortable. You can keep sexy and all of that, I'll keep the icemaker.