Pilot (pilot boat)

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For the San Diego pilot boat, see Pilot (boat).
Pilot Boat Pilot.png
Pilot Boat Pilot, No. 1.
History
United States
NamePilot
OwnerBoston Pilots' Association
OperatorWilliam H. Lewis
BuilderJ. F. James shipyard
Cost$52,000
LaunchedOctober 2, 1924
Out of service1976
FateSold
General characteristics
Tonnage140-tons
Displacement240.74 tons
Length121 ft (37 m)
Beam25 ft (7.6 m)
Draft14 ft (4.3 m)
PropulsionSails, 100-horsepower engines
Sail planSchooner-rigged
NotesCarvel, single 3-inch planks of oak and mahogany on oak frames.

The Pilot, was a pilot boat built in 1924 and designed by yacht designer William Starling Burgess. She was purchased by the Boston Pilots' Association to take the place of the pilot boat Louise that was withdrawn from service in 1924. The Pilot was in service for over fifty years before she was sold in 1976. She became the longest-serving pilot boat in American history.

Construction and service[]

In 1924, the Boston pilot boat Pilot, was designed by yacht designer William Starling Burgess to replace the pilot-boat Louise, which was withdrawn from pilot service on December 9, 1924. The Pilot, was built for the Boston Pilots' Association at the J. F. James & Son shipyard (formerly known as Tarr & James)[1] at Essex County, Massachusetts. She was a spoon-bowed schooner equipped with a twin-screw diesel engines. Her length was 121 ft. and was 98 ft at the water line with a 25 ft. beam. She had the "No. 1" painted across her mainsail.[2][3]

On October 2, 1924, the Pilot, was launched at the Essex shipyard at a cost of $52,000. She was a Knockabout type boat with 100-horsepower engines.[2]

Pilot arrived in Boston on November 19, 1924, from Gloucester, Massachusetts with Captain Murdock McLean in command. McLean supervised her construction.[4]

On December 9, 1924, the new pilot boat Pilot, left Lewis Wharf in Boston, on her trial trip past Boston Light. Captain William H. Lewis commanded her during the trial trip with fifty guests.[2]

During World War II, the Pilot, worked for the United States Coast Guard, moving troop transporters, freighters, and tankers. After the war she returned to the Boston Pilots' Associations until the early 1970s.[5]

End of service[]

The Pilot, was sold in 1976 to Norman D. Paulsen of California to serve as a research vessel. She was sold again in 1998 and her named changed to Highlander Sea.[6] She was sold several times and in 2015 was purchased by Miles and Alex Pincus and converted into a maritime attraction at the Brooklyn Bridge Park.[7]

Earlier Pilot (1917)[]

An earlier Maryland pilot boat Pilot was hit and sunk by the Merchants and Miners Line steamer Berkshire off New York Harbor on December 17, 1917. The pilot boat got tangled in submarine net trying to enter the inner harbor and was rammed by the steamer. No lives were lost.[8]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "May Be Mayflower's Rival". The Boston Globe. Boston, Massachusetts. 27 Mar 1921. p. 73. Retrieved 2021-02-26.
  2. ^ a b c "New Pilot Boat Greeted By Steam Craft On Trial Trip Down Harbor". The Boston Globe. Boston, Massachusetts. 9 December 1924. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
  3. ^ Eastman, Ralph M. (1956). Pilots and pilot boats of Boston Harbor. Boston, Massachusetts: Second Bank-State Street Trust Company. p. 78.
  4. ^ "Port Of Boston. Two Schooners In After Escaping Storm". The Boston Globe. Boston, Massachusetts. 20 Nov 1924. p. 4. Retrieved 25 Feb 2021.
  5. ^ "Boston Harbor Pilots Keepers of Port Secrets". Daily Boston Globe. Boston, Massachusetts. 14 Oct 1945. Retrieved 2021-02-25.
  6. ^ "A portrait of the schooner Highlander Sea, one of the tall ships visiitng Port Huron this weekend". The Times Herald. Port Huron, Michigan. 29 Aug 2001. p. 36. Retrieved 2021-02-26.
  7. ^ "History". pilotbrooklyn.com. Retrieved 2020-12-29.
  8. ^ "Held By U-Boat Net: Sunk". The New York Times. New York, New York. 17 Dec 1917. p. 2. Retrieved 2021-05-11.
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