A Patrol Torpedo Boat (PT) designed and built in 1943 by Huckins Yacht Corp. Hull No. 131, length 78', could reach 50 knots under full military load, 40,000 lbs., in heavy seas. Their hulls were triple-planked mahogany laid diagonally to one another, creating a stronger, smoother ride.

The squadron crews in WW II referred to the Huckins built PT as “the yachts.” John Wayne’s non-fiction account of the PT boats in “They Were Expendable” (FOX 1945) and "In Harms Way" (Paramount 1965), dramatized the role of the PT efforts.