The Grumman Dolphin prototype was completed in 1966 and subsequently saw service in the Canary Islands off the coast of West Africa. After eleven months of troublesome operation due to design "bugs" and interruption of schedules due to difficult sea states, the operator Maritima Antares returned the vessel to Grumman. A second vessel of the class was consequently abandoned in the construction phase. Dolphin was then used on a run between Miami FL in the USA and Freeport in the Bahama Islands. Again, frequent turbulent sea states made it difficult to keep a regular ferry service schedule. In 1969, Dolphin moved to the Virgin Islands, where it operated a seasonal ferry service between St. Thomas and St. Croix. In December 1970, the vessel was sold to the US Navy, which moved it to San Diego where it was partially cannibalized for equipment needed in other Navy hydrofoil development efforts.

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