The pilot boat Pet was built in 1866 by Edward A. Costigan at Charlestown, Massachusetts, for Boston pilot Captain Abel T. Hayden, the father of Abel F. Hayden.[4][5] She was 54 tons, steered by a tiller.[6] The sister pilot-boats, Pet and Phantom, were built on a model by Dennison J. Lawlor of East Boston, Massachusetts for the New York pilots. The vessels had a reputation for swiftness under sail.[7]
The Pet was in service for a number of years in Boston.[6]: p83 The Boston pilot-boat Pet was purchased by Captain Joseph Henderson on August 29, 1872.[8]
The pilot-boat Pet, was registered with the Record of American and Foreign Shipping in 1876. She was listed as a pilot schooner built in 1868. The New York Pilots were listed as owners and Joseph Henderson was listed as Master.[9]
On November 21, 1889, the Pet, No. 9, stuck on the rocks in Newport, Rhode Island, harbor and sank and reported as having been abandoned.[10][11]
Specifications
The Pet was 56 tons, 78 feet long, 21½ feet beam, 8½ feet depth of hold, draws 11 feet aft, and 6 ½ feet forward, and spreads about 1,800 yards of canvas to the three lower sails.[12]
^Russell, Charles Edward (1929). From Sandy Hook to 62°. New York: Century Co. pp. 148–153. OCLC3804485. From Sandy Hook to 62;̊ being some account of the adventures, exploits and services of the old New York pilot-boat.
^Chapelle, Howard I. (1960). "The National Watercraft Collection". United States National Museum, Bulletin 219. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution. p. 90.
^"ASHORE NEAR NEWPORT". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. November 21, 1989. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
^"A New York Pilot Boat Sunk". The Sun. November 20, 1889. Retrieved 2020-01-30. Pilot Boat Pet, No. 9, of New York went ashore this morning on the east side of Conanicut Island, half way between Beaver Tail and Mackerel Cove.
^"The Pilot-Boat Pet"(PDF). New York NY Spirit Of Times. 1877-02-03. Retrieved 2013-01-11.