Louisiana-based boatbuilder Breaux’s Bay Craft has delivered a new 80-foot custom aluminum pilot boat, San Jacinto, to the Houston Pilots. The vessel entered full operational service in the Houston Channel in May 2025.
The San Jacinto is the first of two new pilot boats for the Houston Pilots, with its sister vessel, Juan Seguin, set to follow. The vessel is powered by three MAN D2862 LE 438 Tier 4 diesel engines, each rated at 1,200 horsepower (882.6 kW), which are paired with three HamiltonJet HTX47 waterjets.
This propulsion package gives the vessel a top speed of 37.5 knots and a cruising speed of 32.5 knots. The 80-foot boat, built with an inverted deep-V bottom hull, is also equipped with two 38 kW Northern Lights generators and a Seakeeper 40 stabilization system.
The vessel is fitted with HamiltonJet’s AVX controls and a fixed CO2 firefighting system in the engine room. The navigation and communications electronics suite was supplied and installed by Rio Marine of Texas and includes Furuno radar, Sailor VHF radios, and FLIR thermal imaging cameras.