Varuna (pilot boat)

Varuna
Boston pilot boat Varuna, No. 6.
History
United States
NameVaruna
NamesakeVaruna the Vedic king
OwnerCaptain Thomas Cooper
Operator
BuilderMontgomery & Howard
Launched8 May 1890
Out of service28 June 1913
FateSold
General characteristics
Class & typeschooner
Tonnage90-tons TM
Length87 ft 0 in (26.52 m)
Beam23 ft 0 in (7.01 m)
Draft10 ft 5 in (3.18 m)
Depth9 ft 7 in (2.92 m)
PropulsionSail

The Varuna was a 19th-century Boston pilot boat, built by Montgomery & Howard at Chelsea, Massachusetts in 1890, for a group of Boston pilots. She was designed by yacht designer Edward Burgess, known for his America's Cup defenders. She was the first centerboard pilot-boat in operation in the Massachusetts Bay. The Varuna went out of service in 1912 because of the introduction of steam power into pilot-boats. She was later sold to Stephen Simmons to be used as a trading vessel between ports in the Spanish Main in 1913.