Kūpa‘a

Kupa'a

Sea Engineering workboat Kūpa‘a inbound, Honolulu Harbor. 23 December 2025.

2 Responses to “Kūpa‘a

  • George Schneider
    2 months ago

    This is an interesting vessel. She was a Navy torpedo retriever, officially numbered 85TR653, but while in use by the Pacific Missile Range, she had the unofficial number 101 on her hull. She was built in 1966 by Sewart Seacraft of Berwick LA, who were concurrently building the fleet of 50-foot “Swift Boats” for use in the rivers of Southeast Asia. Her Navy number signifies a length of 85 feet, an initial design as a torpedo retriever, and that she was the third vessel built under a 1965 contract. The government put her up for auction in 2015.

Leave a Reply to George Schneider Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.