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Hunt Design Home > Commercial & Govt > Pilot Boats
C. Raymond Hunt Associates and Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding of Somerset, MA, have worked together for almost 30 years to create a line of rugged, fast pilot boats which now dominates the U.S. pilot boat market. Read 10 reasons for a Hunt Deep-V Pilot Boat.
Pilots face a unique set of conditions and the boats which take them to ships need to function in the worst weather, take rough treatment and still go fast enough to deliver pilots to bridge decks in an economical amount of time. The Hunt deep-V hull is a proven rough-weather performer, with a high dead-rise bottom, spray deflecting strips and chine, flat and flared topsides. This shape works well at planing speeds in head seas and following seas, minimizes roll in cross seas and has excellent stability at slow speeds for safer boating.
 Hunt Designed Pilot Boats
View photos and specifications of Hunt Designed Pilot Boats that are currently in service throughout the United States. |
 Hunt Pilot Boats in the Media
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In 1978, C. Raymond Hunt Associates began a long collaboration with Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding to design and build tough, high-speed deep-V pilot boats. The first Hunt Deep-V pilot boat was built in steel in 1978 for the Delaware pilots. Low-powered by today's standards, she was highly successful, her 20-knot speed cutting running time in half and allowing higher boarding speeds. Other steel boats were built for Tampa and Detroit before the switch to aluminum construction for Charleston, Virginia, and Corpus Christi. Additional Hunt/Gladding-Hearn pilot boats are now in service in Boston, Rhode Island, New York, Miami, Lake Charles, Jacksonville, Los Angeles and San Francisco. The Charleston, Delaware, Virginia, and Maryland pilot organizations each have several boats.
Pilot service has changed over the past 20 years, with deeper draft ships requiring longer runs from shore-side pilot stations. Faster ships and lessened turnaround time require higher boarding speeds, sometimes 10 knots or more. The Hunt Deep-V hull is a proven rough weather performer, with a high dead-rise bottom, spray deflecting strips and chine flat, and flared topsides. This shape has proven to work well at planing speeds in head seas and following seas, minimizes roll in cross seas and retains good control at displacement speeds in gale conditions. The Hunt hull performs well when boarding, remaining stable when in contact with a ship, with no tendency to become stuck alongside.
Over the years, the sophistication of interior accommodations has also changed. Pilots now sit in state-of-the-art Stidd seats, fully adjustable for comfort and support. Noise levels are controlled better and pilot safety increased with wide side decks, heated handrails and rescue systems. Designs take into account the unique requirements and preferences of each pilot organization.
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