USCGC ''Point Herron'' (WPB-82318) was an Point class cutter 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 Department of Homela ...

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 ...

in 1961 for use as a law enforcement and search and rescue patrol boat. Since the Coast Guard policy in 1961 was not to name

cutters Cutter may refer to: Tools * Bolt cutter * Box cutter * Cigar cutter * Cookie cutter * Cutter (hydraulic rescue tool) * Glass cutter * Meat cutter * Milling cutter * Paper cutter * Pizza cutter * Side cutter People * Cutter (surname) * ...

under in length, it was designated as ''WPB-82318'' when commissioned and acquired the name ''Point Herron'' in January 1964 when the Coast Guard started naming all cutters longer than .Scheina, p 72

Design and construction details

''Point Herron'' was built to accommodate an 8-man crew.Scheina, p 71 She was the first in class to be powered by two VT800

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diesel main drive engines and had two five-bladed propellers. Water tank capacity was and fuel tank capacity was at 95% full.Scheina, p 71 After 1990 she was refit with

Caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder ...

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 Herron'' 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 (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

allowed one man operation of the cutter thus eliminating a live engineer

watch A watch is a timepiece carried or worn by a person. It is designed to maintain a consistent movement despite the motions caused by the person's activities. A wristwatch is worn around the wrist, attached by a watch strap or another type of ...

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 is an externally helical threaded fastener capable of being tightened or released by a twisting force (torque) to the screw head, head. The most common uses of screws are to hold objects together and there are many forms for a variety ...

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 spacecraft, 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 ar ...

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 wou ...

. 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 A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple ani ...

. Access to the lower deck and engine room was down a ladder. At the bottom of the ladder was the

galley A galley is a type of ship optimised for propulsion by oars. Galleys were historically used for naval warfare, warfare, Maritime transport, trade, and piracy mostly in the seas surrounding Europe. It developed in the Mediterranean world during ...

mess The mess (also called a mess deck aboard ships) is a designated area where military personnel socialize, eat and (in some cases) live. The term is also used to indicate the groups of military personnel who belong to separate messes, such as the o ...

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 1961, ''Point Herron'' was assigned a homeport of

Lewes, Delaware Lewes ( ) is an incorporated city on the Delaware Bay in eastern Sussex County, Delaware, United States. According to the 2020 census, its population was 3,303. Along with neighboring Rehoboth Beach, Lewes is one of the principal cities of Del ...

, where she served as a law enforcement and search and rescue patrol boat until 1964. In 1965 she was reassigned to

Cape May, New Jersey Cape May (sometimes Cape May City) is a City (New Jersey), city and seaside resort located at the southern tip of Cape May Peninsula in Cape May County, New Jersey, Cape May County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Located on the Atlantic Ocean ...

. The following year she was transferred to

Bay Shore, New York Bay Shore is a Hamlet (New York), hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Administrative divisions of New York#Town, Town of Islip, New York, United States. It is situated on the South Shore (Long Island), South Shore of Long Island, adjo ...

where she served from 1966 through 1981. From 1982 until decommissioning she was homeported at

Babylon, New York The Town of Babylon is one of ten towns in Suffolk County, New York, United States. Its population was 218,223 as of the 2020 census. Parts of Jones Beach Island, Captree Island and Fire Island are in the southernmost part of the town. It borde ...

.Scheina, p 74 On 27 July 1991 ''Point Herron'' was decommissioned and transferred to Mexico, who renamed her ARM ''Punto Mastun'' (P 61).

References

;Bibliography * *

External links

"Point" Class 82-foot WPBs
Coast Guard Historian's website {{DEFAULTSORT:Point Herron Herron 1961 ships Ships built by the United States Coast Guard Yard Point-class cutters of the Mexican Navy