Our most-used aid, the radar, the pilot uses aboard an unfamiliar vessel. The radar may be in almost any state of repair or tuning. Loran and Deca will give a position within 50 feet or so in some areas. It also gave a readout for the distance to the next turn. A system that uses a shore station, when receiving signals from two transmitters located fore and aft on the centerline of the vessel, instead of just one transmitter at the center of the ship, will also give the vessel's rate of turn in a bend.
Pilots are as interested as anyone in navigational advances for harbor and entrance design.
However, we must stress that electronic aids be provided in addition to a complete set of basic navigational aids, and never to the exclusion of those aids. I have purposely disregarded the depth of the channel, which I personally like at least 1.2 times the ship's draft for ease of handling. This is because pilots must often exercise their abilities in less than ideal conditions. If a vessel will float, we will move it safely at a slow rate. I have also omitted vessel traffic control because so much has been said about it lately.