The Cape class was originally developed as an ASW boat and as a replacement for the aging, World War II vintage, wooden 83-foot patrol boats (83 feet (25 m) in length) that were used mostly for search and rescue duties.[2] With the outbreak of the Korean War and the requirement tasked to the Coast Guard to secure and patrol port facilities in the United States under the Magnuson Act of 1950, the complete replacement of the 83-foot boat was deferred and the 95-foot boat was used for harbor patrols.[1][3][4] The first 95-foot hulls were laid down at the Coast Guard Yard in 1952 and were officially described as "seagoing patrol cutters". Because Coast Guard policy did not provide for naming cutters under 100 feet (30 m) at the time of their construction they were referred to by their hull number only and gained the Cape-class names in 1964 when the service changed the naming criteria to 65 feet (20 m). The class was named for North American geographic capes.[5]
The Cape class was replaced by the 110-foot (34 m) Island class beginning in the late 1980s and many of the decommissioned cutters were transferred to nations of the Caribbean and South America by the Coast Guard.
Design
There were three sub-classes or types that evolved as missions for the boat changed.[1] The Type A was outfitted primarily for ASW. The Type B was fitted more for search and rescue (SAR) with the addition of scramble nets, a towing bitt, and a large searchlight. The Type C vessels were constructed with a deck house aft of the bridge.[2] Sixteen boats were overhauled as part of a renovation program began in the mid-late 1970s.
Units
Number
Type
Name
Delivery
Disposition
95300
A
Cape Small
17 July 1953
To Marshall Islands 1987 as Ionmeto 2; sold 1992
95301
A
Cape Coral
21 September 1953
Decommissioned 1987; disposition unknown
95302
A
Cape Higgon
14 October 1953
To Uruguay 5 January 1990 as Colonia; decommissioned in 2022
To Bahamas 10 June 1989 as David Tucker (Hull Number P07); Decommissioned in 1996 and donated and sunk as an artificial reef in 1997 as part of Nassau's artificial reef program. A popular dive spot; it is located along an area known as Clifton Wall
95304
A
Cape Gull
8 June 1953
Sold at auction to Fort Lauderdale businessman Dale Scutti who renamed her Robert Edmister in memory of a deceased friend; She was scuttled 11 December 1989 by five eight-pound dynamite charges administered by the Broward Sheriff's Office Bomb & Arson Unit. She now forms a part of the Broward County Artificial Reef Program.
To U.S. Navy, 1987 as Olympic Venture, PTB-951, retired c.2010; transferred to Sea Scout ship Intrepid in 2012; transferred to Sea Scout Ship Terrapin in 2022.
To Bahamas 30 June 1989 as San Salvador II; struck 1999
95317
B
Cape Jellison
7 September 1955
transferred to U.S. Navy; transferred to Boys and Girls Club of South San Francisco in 1993 and Sea Scouts as the Cape Hurricane SSS 906. Transferred to Sea Scouts as ship 145 SSS Challenger[1]
95318
B
Cape Newagen
26 September 1955
To Mexico 1982; reportedly transferred to U.S. Naval Air Station, Point Mugu, California
95319
B
Cape Romain
11 October 1955
transferred to U.S. Navy 11 August 1989; transferred to Sea Scouts as ship 51 SSS Intrepid[2] in 1993. Scrapped at Lind Marine in Mare Island, Vallejo, California in 2022.
95320
B
Cape Starr
15 August 1956
Decommissioned 1987, active (pilot launch Toucan[3]) at Punta Arenas (Strait of Magellan); Chile; acquired by Transbordadora Austral Broom S.A. in 1995, Rebuild 2010.
95321
C
Cape Cross
20 August 1958
To Micronesia 30 March 1990 as Paluwlap (FSM 03); active
95322
C
Cape Horn
3 September 1958
To Uruguay January 1990 as Rio Negro; active
95323
C
Cape Darby
3 October 1958
To South Korea 24 March 1969 as PB 11; struck 1984
95324
C
Cape Shoalwater
9 December 1958
To Bahamas 30 June 1989 as Fenrick Stirrup, struck
95325
C
Cape Florida
28 October 1958
To South Korea 13 November 1968 as PB 7; struck 1971
95326
C
Cape Corwin
14 November 1958
To Micronesia 30 September 1990 as Constitution (FSM 04); active
95327
C
Cape Porpoise
21 November 1958
To South Korea 13 November 1968 as PB 8; struck 1984