The Australian company Hart Marine specialises in building pilot and patrol boats of the highest quality.This is not surprising, as the owner's father, Mal Hart, was a harbour master and therefore very familiar with the requirements of a pilot boat.
Following in a long line of ever more refined and very seaworthy vessels, this small example of a Safehaven pilot boat has been chosen for operations on and around Scotland’s Cromarty Firth.
The busy Strait of Messina which separates the island of Sicily from the Italian mainland is now home to a new pilot boat, manufactured by Bellcraft and powered by Volvo Penta’s Inboard Performance System (IPS).
When a vessel navigates in confined waters, such as in a harbour or narrow channel, it is well known among experienced pilots that the ship handling is greatly affected by the hydrodynamic forces and moments acting between ship and bank or sidewall of the channel.