Louisiana boatbuilder Breaux’s Bay Craft has delivered a new 80- by 21-foot (24- by 6.4-metre) custom aluminium pilot boat to the Houston Pilots Association (HPA) of Texas.
Juan Seguin is the second boat in a series built by Breaux's Bay Craft for the HPA. San Jacinto, the first unit, entered operational service along the Houston Ship Channel in May 2025.
The ECS Marine-designed newbuild has an inverted deep V-bottom hull and is powered by three MAN D2862 LE 438 1,200hp (890kW) diesel driving Hamilton HTX47 waterjets.
The propulsion package gives the vessel a top speed of 37.5 knots and a cruising speed of 32.5 knots, which satisfies the HPA’s requirement for a boat that could cover the 10- to 12-mile (16- to 19-kilometre) distance to the association’s bar vessel in less than an hour.
Juan Seguin is equipped with two Northern Lights 38kW generators, a Seakeeper 40 stabilisation system, HamiltonJet’s AVX controls, and a fixed CO2 firefighting system in the engine room. The latter includes CO2 bottles with automatic engine shutdown and vent closure functions, though a manual pull feature is also available.
The coxswain’s seat has a joystick installed on the left armrest. This arrangement frees up the coxswain’s right hand to control the waterjets during maneouvres without the need to get up from the seat.
