Dorado, 1981
WSES-1
Builder: Bell Halter, Inc., New Orleans, Louisiana
Length: 110'
Beam: 39'
Draft: 4' 6" (on cushion); 7' 10" (at rest)
Displacement: 162 tons (full)
Cost: ?
Launched: N/A
Commissioned: 18 June 1981
Decommissioned: September, 1982
Disposition: returned to US Navy
Main Engines: 2 General Motors diesels
Lift Engines: 2 Detroit diesels
Performance:
Maximum Speed: 33 knots
Economic/Cruising Speed: 26 knots; 575 mile range
Complement: 14
Electronics: Navigation radar
Armament: Small arms only
Cutter History:
The Coast Guard acquired the Dorado from the Navy in 1981 so that the service could evaluate the SES concept and its possible application to the Coast Guard's missions. It was under evaluation from 18 June 1981 until September of 1982 and was based at New Orleans, Louisiana. She was returned to the Navy in September, 1982.
Sources:
Cutter History File. USCG Historian's Office, USCG HQ, Washington, D.C.
Robert Scheina. U.S. Coast Guard Cutters & Craft, 1946 - 1990. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1990.