It was a three-masted bark with a hull length of 106 feet that was designed for use as a training ship for the cadets of the Revenue Cutter Service School of Instruction.

She made cadet cruises to Europe, the Azores, the West Indies, and along the eastern coast of the United States.

In 1890 Chase was taken out of commission, and for the next four years the Revenue Cutter Service filled the ranks of its officer corps with Annapolis graduates.

The 1890s, however, saw an expansion of the Navy, and in 1895 an Act of Congress provided for the retirement of numerous Revenue Cutter Service officers who were too ill or too old to perform their duties.

Chase was taken into dry dock, cut in half, and lengthened by 40 feet; the new hull section made room for a total of 25 cadets.