USCGC Papaw (WLB-308) was a sea-going buoy tender whose design is based on the pre-World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 United States Lighthouse Service

United States Lighthouse Service

The United States Lighthouse Service, also known as the Bureau of Lighthouses, was the agency of the US Federal Government that was responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of all lighthouses in the United States from the time of its creation in 1910 until 1939...

 Tenders. The original design was modified to provide an armored cutter capable of wartime missions in addition to her primary mission of Aids to Navigation. Papaw was built in 1943 by the Marine Iron and Shipbuilding Company of Duluth, Minnesota

Duluth, Minnesota

Duluth is a port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Saint Louis County. The fourth largest city in Minnesota, Duluth had a total population of 86,265 in the 2010 census. Duluth is also the second largest city that is located on Lake Superior after Thunder Bay, Ontario,...

. Commissioned 12 October 1943, she was assigned the home port of San Francisco, California

San Francisco, California

San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...

.

Papaw saw extensive duty during World War II establishing aids to navigation systems for the newly captured islands in the Pacific. After the war Papaw's home port was moved to Astoria, Oregon

Astoria, Oregon

Astoria is the county seat of Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. Situated near the mouth of the Columbia River, the city was named after the American investor John Jacob Astor. His American Fur Company founded Fort Astoria at the site in 1811...

. In June 1949, Papaw was shifted to the warm waters of Miami, Florida

Miami, Florida

Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...

 where she assumed responsibility for the aids to navigation in the Florida Keys

Florida Keys

The Florida Keys are a coral archipelago in southeast United States. They begin at the southeastern tip of the Florida peninsula, about south of Miami, and extend in a gentle arc south-southwest and then westward to Key West, the westernmost of the inhabited islands, and on to the uninhabited Dry...

 and the Caribbean

Caribbean

The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...

. In 1954, Papaw moved once again, this time to Charleston, South Carolina

Charleston, South Carolina

Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...

. There she maintained buoys, shore stations, and towers. In October 1989 Papaw entered the Service Life Extension Program (SLEP) at the Coast Guard Yard in Curtis Bay, Maryland

Maryland

Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...

. She arrived at her new home port of Galveston, Texas

Galveston, Texas

Galveston is a coastal city located on Galveston Island in the U.S. state of Texas. , the city had a total population of 47,743 within an area of...

 on June 18, 1991.

Papaw services approximately 150 aids to navigation from Brownsville, Texas

Brownsville, Texas

Brownsville is a city in the southernmost tip of the state of Texas, in the United States. It is located on the northern bank of the Rio Grande, directly north and across the border from Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Brownsville is the 16th largest city in the state of Texas with a population of...

 to Calcasieu, Louisiana

Louisiana

Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...

. The ship carried out many missions throughout the Gulf of Mexico

Gulf of Mexico

The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...

 including: Search and Rescue

Search and rescue

Search and rescue is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger.The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, mostly based upon terrain considerations...

, Drug and Contraband Interdiction, Environmental Protection

Environmental protection

Environmental protection is a practice of protecting the environment, on individual, organizational or governmental level, for the benefit of the natural environment and humans. Due to the pressures of population and our technology the biophysical environment is being degraded, sometimes permanently...

, Military Readiness Exercises, and Buoy

Buoy

A buoy is a floating device that can have many different purposes. It can be anchored or allowed to drift. The word, of Old French or Middle Dutch origin, is now most commonly in UK English, although some orthoepists have traditionally prescribed the pronunciation...

 Deployment Operations with the National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration.

Papaw's main propulsion system was diesel electric. Two 700 hp General Motors E.M.D. diesel engines each drove a DC generator

Electrical generator

In electricity generation, an electric generator is a device that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy. A generator forces electric charge to flow through an external electrical circuit. It is analogous to a water pump, which causes water to flow...

 which provided electricity to the 550 volt Westinghouse main motor. At 1200 hp the main motor turned a single shaft to a maximum speed of 13.5 knots (26 km/h). Electric power was supplied by two 200 kW generators each driven by a Detroit Diesel engine. A bow thruster

Bow thruster

A bow thruster is a transversal propulsion device built into, or mounted to, the bow of a ship or boat to make it more maneuverable. Bow thrusters make docking easier, since they allow the captain to turn the vessel to port or starboard without using the main propulsion mechanism which requires...

 was fitted during the 1989 Service Life Extension Program giving the Papaw greater maneuverability. The Papaw's main boom was hydraulically operated and had a maximum working load of 20 tons.

Buoys serviced by the Papaw ranged from tiny 6 feet (2 m) nun buoys to the 35 feet (11 m) tall 18,000 lb Galveston Entrance Channel Buoy. Most buoys are equipped with electrical lights powered by batteries and solar cells. Some have sound signals, radar

Radar

Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...

 beacons, and elaborate power systems. All buoys are pulled from the water at least once a year for painting, maintenance, and position checks.

The Papaw has received many awards during its history. Her wartime honors include: the World War II Victory Medal, the American Campaign Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, and two National Defense Service Medals. Papaw has also received many peace time commendations, these include: two Coast guard Meritorious Unit Commendations, a Humanitarian Service Medal, and a Coast Guard Special Operations Ribbon.

Papaw was decommissioned on 23 July 1999 at Group Galveston, Texas. She was donated to Canvasback Missions of Benicia, California

Benicia, California

Benicia is a waterside city in Solano County, California, United States. It was the first city in California to be founded by Anglo-Americans, and served as the state capital for nearly thirteen months from 1853 to 1854. The population was 26,997 at the 2010 census. The city is located in the San...

, a nonprofit organization. She is currently operating as the F/V Mersea, an emergency relief ship as part of the Friend Ships fleet. Her sister ship, the USCGC Conifer, is also part of the Friend Ships fleet as the F/V Hope.