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Hunt Designed Pilot Boats
L.A. Class

Hunt designers combined a fiberglass hull and aluminum house and superstructure in two 52 foot pilot vessels for the Port of Los Angeles. These two high-speed vessels were needed when the U.S. Coast Guard extended the Port's boarding area from three-quarters of a mile to three miles out to sea. The Port of Los Angeles is the largest in the world and the pilots found their existing slower boats could not handle peak hours. The Hunt boats, built by Willard Marine of Anaheim, Calif., have a top speed of 26 knots and service speed of 22 knots and are powered by two 530 bhp 8V92 Detroit Diesels.

"With our old boats, we had to go slow," said Captain Patrick Donahue of Worldport LA. "Now boarding is possible at eight to ten knots. We can service ships out further and faster. With the old boats, people would stack up. We can now service three or four at a time and keep them coming."

The construction materials were selected to exploit the best properties of each. The molded fiberglass hull will not corrode, requires minimal maintenance and has high impact absorbing flexural properties. Above deck, the welded aluminum superstructure allows the cabin and boarding areas to be customized to fit the exact requirements of the Port of Los Angeles Pilots. Rails and other hardware are welded on, eliminating penetrations where leaks can occur.