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Black and white photograph of a sail plan for Swansea Bay pilot boat. Scale quarter " to 1 foot. Dated September 1936.

This type of boat was introduced by the Swansea Pilots in the 1860s. The hull was similar to the Bristol Channel pilot cutter but the unusual rig, with its steeply raking mainmast and complete absence of standing rigging was similar to that used in the earlier and smaller pilot boats. Almost all the boats of this type were built in Swansea yards and they usually sailed to Lundy Island but went even further to meet incoming ships. They were sometimes in competition with the Bristol Channel Pilot boats.