Pilot Boat Delivered to the Bar
Our latest pilot boat left the yard this week, bound for one of the more demanding jobs on the water: putting a harbor pilot aboard a moving ship at the mouth of a working bar. It is a vessel built around a single uncompromising requirement — be ready to go, every time, in any sea.
Built for the transfer
A pilot boat's whole life is the few seconds when a pilot steps from its foredeck onto a ship's ladder. Everything about this hull serves that moment: a fine, soft-riding bow to hold steady alongside, heavy fendering to absorb the contact, a clear non-skid foredeck, and grab rails exactly where a pilot's hands reach for them.
Self-righting and ready
This hull is designed to self-right — rolled past ninety degrees by a breaking sea, it will come back upright on its own. That capability, paired with sealed superstructure and a low center of gravity, is what lets a crew run a bar crossing at night in winter weather and trust the boat to bring them back. On trials she handled hard turns and following seas dry and predictable.
A pilot boat earns its reputation on the worst nights of the year. This one was built for exactly those nights.
With sign-off complete, she joins a hard-working fleet at the bar — and frees up a build slot we have already filled with the next hull.
More Dispatches
Twin Catamaran Ferries Head to the Coast
A pair of aluminum passenger catamarans left the yard together this week, bound for a coastal commuter route.
100ft Crew Transfer Vessel Hits the Water
The latest Gulf fleet addition exceeded contract speed by four knots during sea trials.
Apprenticeship Program Welcomes a New Class
Aluminum boatbuilding is taught at the bench. Our new apprentice class begins learning the trade hands-on.