Dicky was built as a civilian motorboat of the same name in 1913 by the Weckler Boat Company at Chicago, Illinois. The U.S. Navy leased her from her owner, C.N. Steele of Waukegan, Illinois, in April 1917 for World War I service as a patrol vessel. She was commissioned in mid-June 1917 as USS Dicky (SP-231).
Dicky was assigned to the 9th Naval District for duty on the Great Lakes on the section patrol for the remainder of World War I.
Dicky was returned to Steele on 14 January 1919.