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YP-63
ex
USCGC Dexter (1925-1936)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - India - Foxtrot - Foxtrot NIFF

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is top to bottom, left to right
American Defense Service Medal - American Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal

District Patrol Craft

Built by Defoe Boat & Motor Works, Bay City, MI (YN 82)

Laid down, date unknown

Launched, date unknown

Commissioned as the 100-foot US Coast Guard patrol boat USCGC Dexter, 03 November 1925

Stationed at Boston, MA, 1925-1927

Stationed at Pascagoula, MS, 1927-1934

Stationed at Buffalo, NY, 1935-1936

Decommissioned, 31 January 1936

Transferred to the US Navy and placed in service as YP-63, 1936

Assigned to 3rd Naval District at Buffalo, NY for reservist training, 1937 - 1940

Moved from Great Lakes to New York, NY, November 1940

YP-63 was assigned to the Caribbean Sea Frontier, based at NOB Trinidad, 1942 - 1945

Placed out of service at Charleston, SC, 1945

Struck from the Naval Register, 17 September 1945

To WSA (War Shipping Administration) for disposal, July 1946

Sold to James B. Fowler, Revere, MA, and renamed Kingfisher (ON 255692), 02 July 1946

Owner restyled as M/V Kingfisher, Inc., East Boston, MA, 1957

Operated as Boston area deep sea party boat

Sold to Robert H. Wagner, Chicago, IL, renamed Jamaica II, 1961

Renamed Trinidad, 1963

Renamed Buccaneer, 1994

Registered with Wagner Charter Co., Chicago, IL, 1998

Out of documentation, 2008

Final Disposition, scuttled as a diving attraction in Lake Michigan off Chicago, 18 June 2010

Specifications:
Displacement 210 tons full load
Length 99' 8"
Beam 23'
Draft 4' 6"
Speed 12 knots
Complement 1 Warrant Officer, 14 Enlisted (USCG)
Armament one single 3"/23 gun mount

two Grey Marine Diesel engines

twin propellers, 300 BHP

Click On Image For Full Size Image	Size	Image Description	Source
USCGC Dexter
143106301	78k	*Dexter* launching at Defoe Boat & Motor Works, Bay City, MI. circa 1925. Photo from Bowling Green University Historical Collection of the Great Lakes	Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.
143106307	902k	*Album Cover* - Photos of USCGC Dexter from a personal photo album (call number 96.45/1) made by a Coast Guard crewman who served in Dexter during 1935, just before it was taken over by the US Navy in 1936 and renamed YP-63. Photo from US Coast Guard Museum, Seattle, WA.	John Gerty
143106316	304k	*Album photo* - A Coastguardsman transferring from USCGC Tahoma to USCGC Dexter, 27 June 1935. Photo from US Coast Guard Museum, Seattle, WA.	John Gerty
143106309	218k	*Album photo* - USCGC Dexter and USCGC Tahoma moored at Cleveland, OH, 14 July 1935. Photo from US Coast Guard Museum, Seattle, WA.	John Gerty
143106310	288k	*Album photo* - Ships of the Cleveland Coast Guard Division: Flagship USCGC Tahoma, Cleveland, OH; USCGC Patriot, Huron, OH; USCGC Diligence, Cleveland, OH; and USCGC Dexter, Buffalo, NY gather at Cleveland during July 1935 for target practice. US Coast Guard Museum, Seattle, WA.	John Gerty
143106308	399k	*Album photo* - USCGC Dexter moored pierside at her homeport, US Naval Reserve Station, Buffalo, NY, 16 July 1935. Photo from US Coast Guard Museum, Seattle, WA.	John Gerty
143106315	373k	*Album photo* - USCGC Dexter crewman on a hot summer day in July 1935, while the ship was moored pierside at her homeport, US Naval Reserve Station, Buffalo, N.Y. Photo from US Coast Guard Museum, Seattle, WA.	John Gerty
143106311	290k	*Album photo* - USCGC Dexter crewmen during boat drill at Buffalo, NY, in 1935. Photo from US Coast Guard Museum, Seattle, WA.	John Gerty
143106312	280k	*Album photo* - USCGC Dexter Commanding Officer WO1 Sykes during target practice of Buffalo, NY, 17 September 1935. Photo from US Coast Guard Museum, Seattle, WA.	John Gerty
143106313	425k	*Album photo* - USCGC Dexter gun crew during target practice of Buffalo, NY, 17 September 1935. Photo from US Coast Guard Museum, Seattle, WA.	John Gerty
143106306	441k	*Album photos* - USCGC Dexter moored pierside at her homeport, US Naval Reserve Station, Buffalo, NY, in December 1935. The day before a heavy snowstorm. Photo from US Coast Guard Museum, Seattle, WA.	John Gerty
143106314	310k		John Gerty
YP-63
143106304	368k	YP-63 moored pierside at her homeport, US Naval Reserve Station, Buffalo, NY, 1936. Note the Model A Ford in the background. The 3"/23 cal. forward deck gun has been removed.	Frank Guagliano in honor of his uncle Neil Guagliano YP-63
Commercial Service
143106317	503k	Excursion boat MV Trinidad moored on the Chicago River, 26 June 1987. Source "From Bullets to Bart" published by CERA (Chicago Electric Railroad Association). "From Bullets to BART", Bulletin 127 of the Central Electric Railfans' Association. Wm. D. Middleton Author and Norman Carlson, Editor. 1989. With permission from the publisher	John Gerty
143106302	43k	Wagner Charter Co.'s party cruise boat MV Buccaneer. Photo courtesy Wagner Charter Co.	Dave Wright
143106305	998k	MV Buccaneer moored in the Chicago area, 31 May 2010	Photo ©John Gerty
143106303	141k	MV Buccaneer moored at Marine Services Yard, Dolton, IL, being prepared for sinking in Lake Michigan, off Chicago, summer or fall 2009. She became another dive attraction in the Chicago area the next year. Photo ©Google	John Gerty

Ex-MV Buccaneer was scuttled nine miles east of Burnham harbor, Chicago, Illinois, 18 June 2010, in 70 frrt of water in Lake Michigan. The Buccaneer was towed out from her berth along the Calumet River. She was anchored, the seacocks were opened and the MV Aquatica pulled along side to start pumping water into her hull. As the flooding progressed MV Aquatica pulled away and Buccaneer eventually sank bow first into Lake Michigan. Since Buccaneer was a 100 foot long vessel going into 70 feet of water her bow struck the lake bottom leaving a large divot in the hard clay.
Photos by Karen Rushman, Submitted by John Gerty.