Point class cutter
The Point-class cutter was a class of 82-foot patrol vessels designed to replace the United States Coast Guard's aging 83-foot wooden hull patrol boat being used at the time. The design utilized a mild steel hull and an aluminum superstructure. ...
constructed at the
Coast Guard Yard
The United States Coast Guard Yard or just Coast Guard Yard is a United States Coast Guard operated shipyard located on Curtis Bay in northern Anne Arundel County, Maryland, just south of the Baltimore city limits. It is the largest industrial fa ...
at
Curtis Bay, Maryland
Curtis Bay is a residential / commercial / industrial neighborhood in the southern portion of the City of Baltimore, Maryland, United States.
The neighborhood is on steep sloping heights, about four city blocks wide (west to east) and fifteen blo ...
in 1960 for use as a law enforcement and search and rescue patrol boat. Since the Coast Guard policy in 1960 was not to name cutters under in length, it was designated as ''WPB-82302'' when commissioned and acquired the name ''Point Hope'' in January 1964 when the Coast Guard started naming all cutters longer than .Coast Guard Historian website /ref>Scheina, p 72
Design and construction details
''Point Hope'' was built to accommodate an 8-man crew.Scheina, p 71 She was powered by two VT600
Cummins
Cummins Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and distributes engines, filtration, and power generation products. Cummins also services engines and related equipment, including fuel systems, controls, air ...
diesel main drive engines and had two five-bladed propellers. The main drive engines were later replaced by VT800 Cummins engines. Water tank capacity was and fuel tank capacity was at 95% full.Scheina, p 71 After 1990 she was 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.Scotti, p 165
The design specifications for ''Point Hope'' included a steel hull for durability and an aluminum superstructure and longitudinally framed construction was used 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
A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...
allowed one man operation of the cutter thus eliminating a live engineer
watch
A watch is a portable timepiece intended to be carried or worn by a person. It is designed to keep a consistent movement despite the motions caused by the person's activities. A wristwatch is designed to be worn around the wrist, attached b ...
in the engine room.Scotti, p 165 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.Scotti, p 165 The
screw
A screw and a bolt (see '' Differentiation between bolt and screw'' below) are similar types of fastener typically made of metal and characterized by a helical ridge, called a ''male thread'' (external thread). Screws and bolts are used to f ...
s 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.Scotti, p 166 Air-conditioned interior spaces were a part of the original design for the Point class cutter. Interior access to the deckhouse was through a watertight door on the
starboard side
Port and starboard are nautical terms for watercraft and aircraft, referring respectively to the left and right sides of the vessel, when aboard and facing the bow (front).
Vessels with bilateral symmetry have left and right halves which are ...
aft of the
deckhouse
A cabin or berthing is an enclosed space generally on a ship or an aircraft. A cabin which protrudes above the level of a ship's deck may be referred to as a deckhouse.
Sailing ships
In sailing ships, the officers and paying passengers wo ...
. The deckhouse contained the cabin for the officer-in-charge and the executive petty officer.Scotti, p 166 The deckhouse also included a small arms locker,
scuttlebutt
Scuttlebutt in slang usage means rumor or gossip, deriving from the nautical term for the cask used to serve water (or, later, a water fountain).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. 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.Scotti, p 166
History
After delivery in 1960, ''Point Hope'' was assigned a homeport of
Sabine Pass, Texas
Sabine Pass is a neighborhood in Port Arthur, Texas. It lies at Sabine Pass, on the west bank of the Sabine River, the border between Louisiana and Texas, and was incorporated in 1861. Formally annexed by Port Arthur in 1978, Sabine Pass has its ...
, where she served as a law enforcement and search and rescue patrol boat. On 26 February 1968 she towed the disabled FV ''Hope'' 60 miles to Sabine Pass. On 6 October 1968 ''Point Hope'' towed the disabled FV ''Miss Cubit'' 30 miles to Galveston, Texas. On 11 March 1969 she extinguished a fire on tug ''Gulf Master'' and towed her to the Port of Sabine. She fought another fire on a gas drilling rig in the
on 30 September 1971. ''Point Hope'' rescued seven personnel from a capsized jack-up barge on 17 October 1984. In May 1987 she transported endangered
loggerhead turtle
The loggerhead sea turtle (''Caretta caretta'') is a species of oceanic turtle distributed throughout the world. It is a marine reptile, belonging to the family Cheloniidae. The average loggerhead measures around in carapace length when fully ...
s to deep water.Scheina, p 75
On 3 May 1991 ''Point Hope'' was transferred to the government of Costa Rica, being renamed ''Colonel Alfonso Monje'' (SP 821).