It appears to be a motor launch.
Jon WS1K
"What kind of U.S. Navy WW2 era small craft is this? An uncaptioned photo found. Fellow at rear is controlling rudder.
BTW, as I was looking at this photo, I remembered a long ago, circa 1985, Edmonds WA fellow telling me how he got his
TCH. He was attending a Navy electronics school, I assume at PSNS, north of Seattle, and said the TCHs were being
disassembled as a 'learning tool' for classes. Somehow he got one out. He said they were used on whaleboat class,
torpedo recover vessels. I had to look up Navy whaleboat and was surprised to learn they were not much longer than
the torpedoes I assume they had to tow back in. The TCH with a car battery and loading coil and short antenna would
work. I can't think of anything practical they could have replaced it with, in HF band. Maybe the TBY, that would have
worked.
-Hue Miller"