{"nrhp_refnum":"10001160","name":"PILOT (Pilot Boat)","other_names":[],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"Maritime Museum of San Diego, 1492 N Harbor Dr","address_restricted":false,"city":"San Diego","county":"San Diego County","state":"CA","lat":32.72090000000003,"lon":-117.17347999999998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2011-01-21","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Maritime History","Commerce","Military"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Pilot is a 52-foot wooden, diesel-powered pilot boat built in 1914 at Manuel Goularte's shipyard in San Diego, California. She is berthed at the Maritime Museum of San Diego on the Embarcadero.","why_significant":"The nomination argues Pilot is significant under Criterion A for her role in San Diego's maritime history and harbor development. She served as the city's only pilot craft from 1914 to 1996, delivering pilots to thousands of commercial and naval ships, including during World War II service with the Coast Guard and Navy. She is described as the oldest operational pilot boat in the United States.","narrative":"Pilot is a 52-foot wooden motor vessel built in 1914 at Manuel Goularte's San Diego shipyard to carry harbor pilots out to arriving and departing ships. Planked with Port Orford cedar over Douglas fir frames, she was made to withstand rough seas at the entrance to San Diego Bay. For 82 years, until 1996, she was the city's only pilot boat, serving merchant ships and a long line of Navy vessels, among them the USS Langley and the USS Constitution. During World War II the Coast Guard and then the Navy took her over for pilot and patrol work, and she later received six chevrons for that service. The wheelhouse was enlarged in 1943, and a major restoration completed in 2001 returned her to that configuration. Berthed at the Maritime Museum of San Diego, she carries passengers on narrated tours and still delivers pilots to visiting historic ships. Her listing rests on her long link to the growth of San Diego as a seaport and naval center.","period_of_significance":"1914 - 1996","architect_builder":"Manuel Goularte","architectural_style":"Other: Pilot Boat","criteria":["A"],"status_note":"Restored in 2001 to her 1943 configuration; Coast Guard certified as a passenger boat and pilot boat, used for museum educational programs and tours and occasional pilot duty for visiting historic vessels.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:29.657056-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/10001160.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/10001160/64150a98c4-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/10001160/64150a98c4-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"1953scotty","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pilot2011.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">1953scotty</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pilot2011.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123860949","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilot_(1914_boat)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7194400"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/san-diego-county/pilot-pilot-boat-10001160/"}