Like her sister ships, she is equipped for coastal security patrols, interdiction of drug and people smugglers, and search and rescue. Like the smaller she is equipped with a stern launching ramp. The ramp allows the deployment and retrieval of her high speed water-jet powered pursuit boat without first coming to a stop. She is capable of more than and armed with a remote controlled 25mm M242 Bushmaster autocannon; and four crew-served Browning M2 machine guns.
On April 4, 2016, Isaac Mayo intercepted a small boat with twenty-two Cuban refugees on board. The refugees had gone off course, and had entered Bahamas territory.
She is named after Isaac Mayo, who served a surfman at a lifeboat station on Cape Cod.Mayo was an employee of the United States Life-Saving Service, one of the precursor services that were amalgamated into the Coast Guard.