POINT MARTIN, 1970 (WPB 82379)

March 17, 2021
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POINT MARTIN, 1970

WPB 82379


Builder:  Coast Guard Yard, Curtis Bay, MD 

Commissioned:  20 August 1970 

Decommissioned:  6 August 1999 

Disposition:  Transferred to Dominican Republic, 1 October 1999 

Length:  82’10” oa, 78’ bp 

Navigation Draft:  5’11” max (1960) 

Beam:  17’7” max 

Displacement:  69 fl; 60 light (1960) 

Main Engines:  2 Cummins diesel (see class history) 

BHP:  1,600 

Performance, Maximum Sustained:  18.0 kts, 542-mi radius (1,600 hp, 1963)
Performance, Economic:  9.4 kts, 1,500-mi radius (1,600 hp, 1963)

Maximum Speed:  22.9 kts (1963) 

Fuel Capacity:  1,840 gal 

Complement:  8 men (1960), 2 officers, 8 men (1965) 

Electronics:

Radar:  SPN-11, CR-103 (1960), or SPS-64 

Armament: 1 x 20mm (1960), 5 x .50 cal mg, 1 x 81 mm mortar (Vietnam service)


Class history—The 82-foot patrol boats have mild steel hulls and aluminum superstructures. Longitudinally framed construction was used to save weight.

These boats were completed with a variety of power plants. 82301 through 82313, 82315 through 82317, and 82319 through 82331 were powered by two Cummins 600-hp diesels. Boats 82318 and 82332 through 82379 received two Cummins 800-hp diesels. The 82314 was fitted with two 1,000-hp gas turbines and controllable-pitch propellers. The purpose of this installation was to permit the service to evaluate the propulsion equipment. All units were eventually fitted with the 800-hp diesels. Units remaining in 1990 were re-equipped with Caterpillar diesels.

WPB 82301 through 82344 were commissioned without names; at that time the Coast Guard did not name patrol craft shorter than 100 feet. In January 1964 they were assigned names.


Ship's history:

The Point Martin was stationed at Norfolk, VA, from 1970 to 1973. She was used for law enforcement and search and rescue operations. On 16 October 1970, she towed a USN 50-foot utility boat to Cape Charles after it had broken its towline.

She was stationed at Wrightsville Beach, NC, from 1974 to 1983. On 29 January 1979, she towed a disabled F/V from 20 miles south-southeast of Cape Hatteras to safety. On 25 February 1980, she helped seize M/V Jell II 50 miles southeast of Cape Fear carrying 1 ton of marijuana.

From 1983, she was stationed at Atlantic Beach, NC.


Sources:

Cutter History File.  USCG Historian's Office, USCG HQ, Washington, D.C.

"The 82-Foot Class Patrol Boat." U.S. Coast Guard Engineer's Digest No. 133 (Mar-Apr 1962), pp. 2-5.

Robert Scheina.  U.S. Coast Guard Cutters & Craft, 1946-1990.  Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1990