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Charlie Pilgrim 

Charlie Pilgrim built boats in a small boat factory on “Pilgrim Point”, located ¼ mile north of Champlin Beach on the east side of Keuka Lake. Over roughly a twenty-year period, until his death in 1938, he and his three sons built and repaired troutboats, sailboats and an occasional inboard or outboard powered motorboat.

Carvel planked with 12-13 red cedar strakes (per side) clinch nailed to white oak ribs, the troutboats had a rounded transom, front and rear decks, and usually a distinctive square outwale. Some models were set up with a positionable rowing seat and “drop stern” (sloping rear deck) to accommodate a copper hand line used for trout fishing.

Pilgrim troutboats were widely used by fishermen on the southern end of Keuka Lake, and several of these boats are known to exist today.