Canaveral Pilots Association News

Port Canaveral will add a new security patrol vessel and a pilot boat after receiving federal grant funding for several projects to protect against terrorism and other security threats.The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) awarded $472,500 in Port Security Grant Program (PSGP) funding to allow the Canaveral Port Authority (CPA) to purchase a new Security Rapid Response Boat. The vessel will be a 33-ft. “Life Proof” boat operated…

Glosten said it is working with fellow naval architecture firm Ray Hunt Design and the Canaveral Pilots Association on a pilot/demonstration project for the design, construction and operation of an electric pilot boat.Marking a first for a pilot boat in the U.S., the vessel will feature a battery-electric propulsion system with an emergency ‘get home’ diesel engine.During the feasibility-level engineering, the team established that a Ray Hunt hull form outfitted with a Glosten…

Metal Shark has delivered a custom 45-foot aluminum pilot boat to the Canaveral Pilots Association at Port Canaveral, Florida. The vessel was built at Metal Shark’s newly-opened shipyard in Franklin, Louisiana. For the project, the Canaveral Pilots specified a purpose-built pilot boat design by naval architect Bill Preston. The design utilizes the weight of a single bow-mounted diesel engine and a sharp forward entry to slice levelly through waves as opposed to riding over the top of the crests and then plummeting into the troughs.

Small vessels were permitted through the Canaveral Lock and Barge Canal to re-enter Port Canaveral. However, the channel remains closed to ship traffic pending completion of harbor surveys and repositioning of navigational aids. Assessments show several buoys out of alignment and some additional shoaling at the entrance to the channel. Dredge operations are expected to resume Tuesday morning, subject to wind and wave conditions. The project to restore the channel depth nearly was complete before Hurricane Jeanne caused additional shoaling. "These certainly have been trying times for all of us, but as in the aftermath of Frances," says Stan Payne, Chief Executive Officer of the Canaveral Port Authority. "The U.S. Coast Guard, U.S.

Harbor Services, Inc., a support organization for the Canaveral Pilots Association of Port Canaveral, Fla. has taken delivery of a 40 ft. pilot boat of welded aluminum by Winninghoff Boats, Inc. Designed by Bill Preston of Marine Design, Inc., this boat is an updated version of a pilot boat design that Preston has been perfecting since 1976, incorporating improvements in equipment, systems and construction methods along the way. The most significant changes on this 1998 version are the use of foam fendering, the addition of a second helm station and the creation of NC cutting files for hull and superstructure components.