Apopka (YTB-778)
1965-1996
A city and lake in Orange County, Florida.
(YTB-778: displacement 356 (full load); length 109 (overall); beam 31' (extreme); draft 14' (maximum navigational); speed 12 knots (trial); complement 12; class Natick)
Apopka (YTB-778) was laid down in October 1964 at Marinette, Wis., by the Marinette Marine Corp.; launched on 7 July 1965; and delivered on 30 September 1965.
Upon entering service, Apopka was assigned to the Atlantic Fleet. By the beginning of 1966, she had crossed the Atlantic Ocean and had begun operations at Holy Loch, Scotland, and provided vital harbor tug services to Navy ships based there into 1992. Transferred to U,S. Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, she was ultimately stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 26 June 1996, and was subsequently transferred to the Maritime Administration to provide services to the James River Reserve Fleet.
Updated, Robert J. Cressman
16 April 2021