Spray II was built as a wooden-hulled civilian launch in 1911 by Charles L. Seabury and Company at Morris Heights in the Bronx, New York. On 9 May 1917, she was ordered delivered to the U.S. Navy for World War I section patrol duty, but the Navy never actually took control of her and she remained in civilian hands. Spray II was stricken from the Navy List in late 1918. Spray II should not be confused with USS Spray (ID-2491), a naval trawler and minesweeper in commission from 1918 to 1919.