Needle was built as a private motorboat of the same name by George Lawley & Son at Neponset, Massachusetts, in 1906. On 9 June 1917, the U.S. Navy acquired her from her owner, George L. Batchelder of Medford, Massachusetts, for use as a section patrol boat during World War I. She was commissioned as USS Needle (SP-649) on 20 June 1917.
Needle carried out patrol duties for the rest of World War I and into 1919.
Needle was stricken from the Navy List on 18 August 1919 and sold to Morgan Barney of New York City on 16 September 1919.