The America, No. 21 was a 19th-century pilot boat built in 1880 for the New York City and Sandy Hook Pilots. She was a replacement for the William H. Aspinwall, No. 21, that was lost off Point Judith, Rhode Island in 1880. She weathered the Great Blizzard of 1888. In the time of steam, the America was sold in 1896 by the New York Pilots. A new pilot-boat America was built in 1897 for Captain James H. Reid of Boston and designed from the line drawings by Thomas F. McManus of Boston. After serving 21 years in the Boston Pilots' Association, the America was sold to David W. Simpson of Boston in 1918.