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. The Coast Guard Yard discontinued building the 95-foot Cape-class cutter to have the capacity to produce the 82-foot Point-class patrol boat in 1960. They served as patrol vessels used in law enforcement and search and rescue along the coasts of the United States and the Caribbean. They also served in Vietnam during the Vietnam War. They were replaced by the 87-foot Marine Protector-class coastal patrol boats beginning in the late 1990s.
Point-class cutter
U.S. Coast Guard patrol boat Point Warde (WPB-82368) off the coast during Upward Key '87, a joint exercise of U.S. and Antigua and Barbuda Defense Forces
Gun crew on board USCGC Point Comfort (WPB-82317) firing 81mm mortar during bombardment of suspected Viet Cong staging area one mile behind An Thoi, August 1965
Point Gammon gets a camouflage coat of dark grey paint at Da Nang, October 1965, for its conversion from Coast Guard use to Vietnam War river patrol duties.
A patrol boat is a relatively small naval vessel generally designed for coastal defence, border security, or law enforcement. There are many designs for patrol boats, and they generally range in size. They may be operated by a nation's navy, coast guard, police, or customs, and may be intended for marine, estuarine, or river environments.
Fateh, a Diciotti-class offshore patrol vessel in service with the Iraqi Navy
Kawachi, a patrol boat in service with the Osaka Prefectural Police
PCE-872, a World War II patrol craft escort of the U.S. Navy
Iliria, an example of a modern patrol boat of the Albanian Naval Force