Caprice was built in 1914 as a private motorboat of the same name by the Electric Launch Company (ELCO) at Bayonne, New Jersey. In May 1917, the U.S. Navy acquired her under a free lease from her owner, William Sloan of Norfolk, Virginia, for use as a section patrol boat during World War I. She was commissioned as USS Caprice (SP-703) on 24 August 1917 with Ensign C. H. Burnett, USNRF, in command. Assigned to the 5th Naval District, Caprice carried out patrol duties for the rest of World War I. Caprice was decommissioned on 24 January 1919 and returned to Sloan the same day.