Port pilots: experience and poise in all conditions

Port pilots: experience and poise in all conditions

Every day, professional mariners may work with pilots, but many may not know the level of expertise that goes into their 24/7 work of safely guiding vessels of all sizes and types in and out of the nation’s ports in often hazardous conditions. Their’s is a unique role that requires an incredible depth of knowledge of both the local waterways…
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Deep-V Hulls Still Dominate Fast Pilot Boat Design

Deep-V Hulls Still Dominate Fast Pilot Boat Design

Pilots and the highly specialized boats they depend on have occupied a unique position in the maritime sector since the days of sail. Motorized pilot boats, introduced around 1900, relied on traditional displacement hulls with a top speed of around 10 knots and remained in service into the late 1990’s on the West Coast. They were finally replaced by the…
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GOLDEN GATE: A future-proof pilot boat for S.F. Bay

GOLDEN GATE: A future-proof pilot boat for S.F. Bay

The San Francisco Bar Pilots have set a new standard for American pilot boats with the arrival of the 67-foot Golden Gate.  The San Francisco Bar Pilots has a rich history and is one of the few pilot groups left in the U.S. that operates offshore station boats 24 hours a day with its 104-foot vessels loitering 12 miles outside…
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SINGING RIVER ISLAND

SINGING RIVER ISLAND

Sturdy launch keeps Pascagoula pilots all-weather ready  Capt. Walter Gautier stood on the aft deck of the new pilot launch Singing River Island in Pascagoula, Miss., as a 30-knot wind blew from the south.   “When it’s a sea like this,” Gautier said, gesturing toward the Gulf of Mexico, “this is the boat you want.” The 55-foot Singing River Island…
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PILOT/PATROL/FIREBOAT

PILOT/PATROL/FIREBOAT

Great Lakes pilot association diversifies fleet with fuel-sipping Huron Pride  The Lakes Pilots Association operates two Chesapeake-class pilot boats from Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding. A third launch from the yard, delivered earlier this year, adds speed and versatility to that proven fleet.  The 42.5-foot Resilient-class Huron Pride operates from the pilots’ home base in Port Huron, Mich. The deep-V aluminum hull was designed…
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