Point Class Cutter - Design and Production

Design and Production

The design of the 82 foot patrol boat actually began in the early 1950s with the introduction of the 95 foot patrol boat, which was introduced to replace the aging wooden gasoline powered 83 foot patrol boats that were produced during World War II. The 95 foot patrol boat was originally developed as a search and rescue boat to replace the less capable 83 foot boat. With the outbreak of the Korean War and the requirement by the Coast Guard to secure port facilities in the United States under the Moss-Magnuson Act, the complete replacement of the 83 foot boat was deferred and the 95 foot boat was used for harbor patrols. With the goal of reducing manning requirements in mind, the Point-class patrol boat was designed to accommodate an 8 man crew, which was a reduction from the 15 man crews of the Cape-class cutter. Production started in early 1960 at the Coast Guard Yard at Curtis Bay, Maryland and continued through late December 1963, producing 44 boats. The first 30 boats were powered by two 600 horsepower Cummins diesel engines; except for 82314 (later Point Thatcher) which was powered by two 1000 horsepower gas turbine engines with controllable pitch propellers and 82318 (later Point Herron) which had two 800 horsepower Cummins diesels installed. Beginning in March 1962 with 82331 (later Point Marone), all boats were equipped with two 800 horsepower Cummins diesel engines. All were equipped with twin propellers. Eventually all boats were upgraded to the same 800 horsepower main engines used in the later production. In 1966 a contract for the production of 25 additional boats was awarded to J.M. Martinac Shipbuilding Corp. of Tacoma, Washington and all 25 were equipped with the twin 800 horsepower engines of the 1962 and later Yard production. In 1970, the last 9 boats of the class were produced at the Yard utilizing the 800 horsepower design of the rest of the class. Those boats in service in 1990 were refit with Caterpillar diesel main drive engines. Engine exhaust was ported through the transom rather than through a conventional stack and this permitted a 360 degree view from the bridge; a feature that was very useful in search and rescue work as well as a combat environment.

The design specifications for the 82 foot cutter included a steel hull for durability and an aluminum superstructure to save weight. Ease of operation with a small crew size was possible because of the non-manned main drive engine spaces. Controls and alarms located on the bridge allowed one man operation of the cutter thus eliminating a live engineer watch in the engine room. Because of design, four men could operate the cutter; however, the need for resting watchstanders brought the crew size to eight men for normal domestic service. Berthing spaces were provided for thirteen so that requirements were met for passengers and extra wartime manning needs. The screws were designed for ease of replacement and could be changed without removing the cutter from the water. A clutch-in idle speed of three knots helped to conserve fuel on lengthy patrols and an eighteen knot maximum speed could get the cutter on scene quickly. Already part of the design, crews stationed in Vietnam found the air-conditioned interior especially helpful. Interior access to the deckhouse was through a watertight door on the starboard side aft of the deckhouse. The deckhouse contained the cabin for the officer-in-charge and the executive petty officer but for Vietnam service the spaces quartered the commanding officer, the executive officer and chief boatswain's mate as well as the chief engineman. The deckhouse also included a small arms locker, scuttlebutt, a small desk and head. Access to the lower deck and engine room was down a ladder. At the bottom of the ladder was the galley, mess and recreation deck which also included three bunks for first class petty officers. A watertight door at the front of the mess bulkhead led to the main crew quarters which was ten feet long and included six bunks that could be stowed, three bunks on each side. Forward of the bunks was the crew's head complete with a compact sink, shower and commode.