The vessels on this page are all Pilot Cutters. During the age of sail Pilot Cutters would patrol coastal waters looking for inbound trading vessels - from all over the world, Europe, Asia, and the Americas - and then put a pilot on board to guide them into port - the rule was that the first Cutter to put a pilot on board got the job. Pilots had intimate knowledge of the dangers along the coast, and in the days before accurate charts, offered an essential service to trading vessels.

Boat design was driven by these differing needs, and the resulting innovations were tested the hard way - on the water, everyday, in all conditions, by men who knew the feel of a boat how to get the best out of her. Mistakes in design were paid for with lives lost. It is heartening to see today that even the latest cutting edge designs are based firmly upon what was learned in those hard days.

Boats were needed for all kinds of work - shellfishing, netting or dredging - shallow or deep water work; Barges for carrying coastal cargo; Oar boats, and light inshore craft. The type of harbour and the nature of the coast made a difference to the boat design - depending on whether there was a harbour or the boat had to be beached - and to its style of sail, or oar.