Pilot boat

Pilots and the work functions of the maritime pilot go back to Ancient Greece and Roman times, when incoming ships' captains employed locally experienced harbour captains, mainly local fishermen, to bring their vessels safely into port.

Although licensed by the harbour to operate within their jurisdiction, pilots were generally self-employed, meaning that they had to have quick transport to get them from the port to the incoming ships.

[3] In the spring of 1896, the New York and New Jersey pilots discarded pilot-boats and moved them to the Erie Basin in Brooklyn.

[4] In Great Britain, pilot boats were rigged as schooners in Fleetwood, Swansea and Liverpool.

The pilot boats were responsible for guiding East Indiaman, and other vessels, up and down the Hooghly River between Calcutta and the sea.

[6]: 11 The Zodiac and Adventuress are both listed with the National Register of Historic Places and are now cruising in Washington state after restorations.

In terms of design, monohull hullforms are most commonly used, though examples of catamarans,[9] SWATHs[10] and Wave Piercing Hulls[11] also exist.

Although some pilot boats are still constructed from steel, the need to travel quickly means lighter weight materials such as aluminium, fibreglass and composites are now commonly used.

To remember this, some people use the mnemonic "white cap, red nose" to reflect the idea that pilots consumed a lot of alcohol while waiting for ships, thus the white captain's cap with a red nose below it.

Pilot boats often also use bright colours, like flashy yellow, to make them clearly visible and distinctive in even the worst conditions.