Scale: not calculated. Full hull model of the 'Smokey Joe' (19th century), a sailing pilot cutter.

In and around many ports, harbours, and navigable waters, local regulations make it compulsory for vessels over a certain size to embark a pilot, an expert navigator of that particular area. Before ships were fitted with radio, pilots would wait near the points of entry into the designated area in pilot cutters from which they could be picked up by incoming ships and into which they could be dropped off by outgoing ships. In the days of sail, pilot cutters were cutter-rigged like the one depicted here. The name ‘Smokey Joe’ may be fictitious though it is a traditional name for vessels in the US.