Tug T.B. McClintic was built as a boarding tug for the U.S. Public Health Service by Bath Iron Works in 1932.  Although a small tug, she was a significant vessel for the shipyard.  The construction of the tug T.B. McClintic and another small vessel, the lighthouse tender Hickory, were critical to Bath Iron Works' ability to reduce lay-offs and continue operations during The Great Depression.

Just  prior to relaunching in 2007

Following its service as a boarding tug for the U.S. Public Health Service, Tug T.B. McClintic was renamed "Atlantic IV" and served twenty-five years as a fireboat for the City of Wilmington, North Carolina.

Tug T.B. McClintic was placed on the National Register of Historic Places as "the last known remaining quarantine boarding tug afloat and in operating condition . . . the sole survivor of its type."