This is a list of pilot boats for Delaware, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. Some pilot boats have the same ship number as they may have been replaced with other boats. Ship numbers were used as a ship identifier.
New York pilot boats Ship No. Ship name Image Captain Builder Description No. 1 Moses H. Grinnell H. L. Gurney, J. B. Lockman George Steers Moses H. Grinnell was a pilot boat built in 1850 for the New York maritime pilots. She was designed by the yacht designer George Steers. The Grinnell was the first pilot boat to feature a fully developed concave clipper-bow, which was to become the New York schooner-rigged pilot boat's trade mark. This new design was the basis for the celebrated yacht America. She was sold to the Pensacola, Florida pilots in 1882. No. 1 Hope Thomas Morley Henry Steers Hope was a yacht schooner, built in 1861 by Henry Steers for Captain Thomas B. Ives of Providence, Rhode Island. She was acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was placed into service as a gunboat assigned to support the fleet blockading the ports of the Confederate States of America. She was a pilot boat from 1866 to 1891. She was lost in 1891 and replaced by the pilot boat Herman Oelrichs,. No. 1 Herman Oelrichs Michael Lyons Moses Adams Hermann Oelrichs was a Sandy Hook pilot boat, built in 1894 by Moses Adams at Essex, Massachusetts for a group of New York Pilots. The Herman Oelrichs was said to be the fastest of the New York pilot fleet. She was built to replace the pilot boat Hope, that was wrecked in 1890.New Pilot Boat, Herman Oelrichs, Proves to be a Flyer. No. 2 Edmund Blunt Josiah Johnson Jr. Edward F. Williams Edmund Blunt was a Sandy Hook pilot boat built in 1858 by Edward F. Williams for a group of New York Pilots. She survived the Great Blizzard of 1888. In the age of steam, the Blunt along with other pilot boats, were replaced with steamboats. She was built to replace the pilot boat Jacob L. Westervelt, which sank in 1858. No. 3 Charles H. Marshall Josiah Johnson Sr., John J. Canvin Sr. Henry Steers Charles H. Marshall, was a Sandy Hook pilot boat built by Henry Steers in 1860 for a group of New York pilots. She was in the Great Blizzard of 1888, the same year the National Geographic came out with an article about the successful struggle made by the crew of the Marshall. The boat was named in honor of the American businessman Charles Henry Marshall. In the age of steam she was sold in 1896.NEW PILOT BOAT, New York Times, June 20, 1860, Page 8 No. 3 Gratitude (no picture) Enon Harris Brown & Bell Gratitude, was a Sandy Hook pilot boat built in 1824 by Brown & Bell for New York pilots. She helped transport maritime pilots between inbound or outbound ships coming into the New York Harbor. In 1839, she had a narrow escape from the slave ship La Amistad. In 1839, the Gratitude No. 3, was shipwrecked when a hurricane swept the New York coast. No. 4 Abraham Leggett Michael Murphy Daniel Westervelt Abraham Leggett, was a New York pilot boat built by Daniel Westervelt at the Westervelt & Co. shipyard. In 1866, Pilot Michael Murphy was on the Leggett, when the bark Emilie, ran into the pilot boat. In 1879, the Leggett, was hit and sank by the steamship Naples, from Liverpool. She was replaced by the Alexander M. Lawrence the same year. No. 4 David Carll Edward P. Nichols David Carll David Carll, was a pilot boat built in 1885 at the David Carll shipyard in City Island, New York. She was named in honor of David Carll, a well-known City Island shipbuilder. The David Carll, was considered to be among the fastest schooners in the fleet. She was one of the pilot boats that survived the Great Blizzard of 1888. The David Carll was lost at sea in 1893. She was built to replace the Mary E. Fish that was run down and sank by the schooner Frank Harrington in 1885. His brother, Jesse Carll had a successful shipyard in Northport. No. 4 Alexander M. Lawrence Michael Murphy, H. B. Cogswell C. & R. Poillon Alexander M. Lawrence was the last-century sailing schooners to be in the New York pilot boat service. She was one of the largest and fastest in the Sandy Hook fleet. She was built to replace the pilot-boat Abraham Leggett, that was hit by the steamship Naples in 1879. Her boat model won a medal at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair illustrating the perils of the pilot-boat service. In the age of steam, the Lawrence was sold to the Pacific Mining and Trading Company in 1897. No. 4 Jacob Bell Wm. H. Rolston Jacob Bell Jacob Bell, was a Sandy Hook pilot boat built by the shipbuilder Jacob Bell for a group of New York Pilots in 1840. She was named in honor of the shipbuilder Jacob Bell, who was a partner in the Brown & Bell firm. After fourteen years of service she went ashore in a gale off Sandy Hook in 1854. No. 5 Mary Taylor Richard Brown Hathorne & Steers Mary Taylor was a yacht and Sandy Hook pilot boat, built at the Hathorne & Steers shipyard in 1849 for Captain Richard Brown. She was designed by George Steers with a new radical design with a long thin bow and wide stern, which made her faster than any other boat in her class. This design proved successful and led to the famous yacht America, which won the America's Cup in 1851. The Mary Taylor was lost by an American schooner Fairhaven in 1863. She was replaced by the Mary E. Fish No. 4. No. 5 David Mitchell (no picture) Thomas Dexter John A. Robb David Mitchell, was a Sandy Hook pilot boat built in 1846, at Baltimore, Maryland for a group of New York Pilots. She was launched at the John A. Robb shipyard in East Baltimore. She was sold to the Pensacola, Florida pilot fleet in 1875. No. 5 Charlotte Webb Edward FryerAlbert C. Malcolm Webb & Bell Charlotte Webb was a New York City pilot boat built in 1865 at the Webb & Bell shipyard to take the place of the James Funk, that was destroyed by the rebel Tallahassee during the Civil War. She survived the Great Blizzard of 1888, but was run down by the French steamship La Normandie in 1889. No. 5 David T. Leahy (no picture) Dennis Reardon C. & R. Poillon David T. Leahy, was a pilot boat built in 1890 at the C. & R. Poillon shipyard in New York City. She was named in honor of David T. Leahy, a wealthy woolen merchant. She was said to be the fastest boat in the New York and New Jersey fleet. In 1899, the David T. Leahy was renamed the James Gordon Bennett, when the pilots consolidated their business. She sank off Sandy Hook when the German Atlas Line steamship Alene, hit her in 1901. No. 5 Blossom (no picture) James Mitchell, Thomas Freeborn Blossom, was a Sandy Hook pilot boat built for the New York pilots around 1837. She helped transport maritime pilots between inbound or outbound ships coming into the New York Harbor. In 1839 she came across the Slave ship La Amistad. In 1840 there were only eight New York pilot boats, the Blossom being No. 5. Pilot Thomas Freeborn of the Blossom boarded the packet ship John Minturn and tried to guide the ship in bad weather. He was one of thirty-eight passengers that died near the Jersey Shore in 1846. No. 5 Favorite William Carlton Fowler Favorite or Favorita was a Sandy Hook pilot boat built for a group of New York Pilots. The steamer City of Port au Prince, ran into and sunk the pilot boat Favorite on February 6, 1865. All crew were saved. Captain William C. Fowler joined the pilot service in 1833 on the pilot boat Favorite, under Captain Benjamin Swett, where he stayed for one year.Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001 No. 6 Mary and Catherine (no picture) John Taylor, Josiah Johnson Sr. Jacob Aaron Westervelt Mary and Catherine, was a New York pilot boat built in 1848 by the Jacob Aaron Westervelt shipyard. She was hit and sank by the steamship Haverton in 1885. The collision became a court case that went as far as the U.S. Supreme Court. The Mary and Catherine was replaced by the pilot boat William H. Starbuck. No. 6 William H. Starbuck Jacob M. Heath J. S. Ellis & Son William H. Starbuck was a New York pilot boat built to take the place of the Mary and Catherine, that sank in 1885. She was launched from the J. S. Ellis & Son shipyard, at Tottenville, Staten Island in 1886. The Starbuck was one of the few pilot-boats to take the offensive in the Great Blizzard of 1888, when she ran into the steamship Japanese and survived one of the most severe recorded blizzards in American history. She was one of the last pilot boats that were sold in an age of steam and electricity. No. 6 Thomas H. Smith Owen Callanan, Theophilus Beebe Thomas H. Smith, was a Sandy Hook pilot boat built for the New York pilots around 1820. She helped transport maritime pilots between inbound or outbound ships coming into the New York Harbor. In 1840, she was one of only eight pilot boats in the New York fleet. In 1857, she went ashore and sank six miles from Barnegat. No. 6 Joseph N. Lord Jarvis P. Calvert Jabez Williams Joseph N. Lord, was a Sandy Hook pilot-boat built in 1840 at the Jabez Williams shipyard in East River, for New York pilots. The Joseph N. Lord, was lost at sea in 1845 at Port-au-Platt, Dominican Republic. No. 7 Sarah Frances (no picture) Captain Edwards Sarah Frances was a New York pilot-boat. She was sixty miles southeast of Sandy Hook, when she boarded a pilot on the bark Ann. Captain Edwards was captain of the bark and spoke about the cholera that was raging in St. Catharines.