Presidential Yacht

[Mrleft8]

If I were elected prez tomorrow (It won't happen, don't worry tongue.gif ), There would have to be a new (old?) Presidential yacht. A blow boat I think... Lots of that old world charm....Polished Mahogany, gleaming brass, plush red cushions.... Funny how I feel about yacht interiors, when I think about my taste in landlocked design....Why, aside from the perception of elitism, was the Presidential yacht done away with? Who was the last CIC to use one?

[uncas]

Doug...think it was Carter....Sequoya (sp) can now be chartered for a wee 10,000.00 for an afternoon....
I don't know of any pres yacht that was classified as a puff boat...although there has to be one in the past....Now some pres...obviously had their own boats....but not called the pres. yacht perse...

[ 01-07-2006, 08:48 AM: Message edited by: uncas ]

[High C]

It was Carter, and there was a sistership to the Sequ...seqyi...seq...dang, Presidential yacht that was docked in Gulfport, Miss in the municipal harbor.

Now I'm curious to learn if Katrina destroyed her. Most boats there were totalled. :(

[uncas]

High C...didn't know she had a sistership....that has survived...wasn't the pres. yacht built around 1911...?

[Gary E]

I think I saw the former Prez yacht when it was in Conn, shortly after it was sold...Nice boat and had a pair of alum Detroit 6-71's in it ...Those engines would be worth a boatload of bux today.

But why stick the taxpayer's with the cost of maintaining that old bucket of high priced boards. Glad they sold it.

[High C]

Originally posted by uncas:
High C...didn't know she had a sistership....that has survived...wasn't the pres. yacht built around 1911...?I think so. She was very old, one of those Trumpy looking things with a plum bow, around 65 feet. Here sister was in Gulfport for many years in marginal condition, but still a beauty.

[uncas]

Well...for that matter why do we maintain various presidential homes.....or museums...or anything for that matter....?
Heritage man...heritage....

[High C]

A little more from the memory banks, she was named the Frances Fayard.

[uncas]

Do ya know who...what president changed her name?

[High C]

Originally posted by uncas:
Do ya know who...what president changed her name?No, no, the Fayard was the sistership.

[uncas]

ah...okay....that makes sense....Didn't think the pres. yacht had ever gone through a name change...caught me off guard there... :D

[uncas]

OKAY a bloody long C&P.....my second I think..

History
Importance to America
The Sequoia Presidential Yacht is fully restored, 104-foot, 1925 Trumpy-designed yacht that has served more than nine Presidents. It is thus not a surprise that Congress designated the Sequoia a National Historic Landmark. This is perhaps the most important piece of Americana in private hands, and it may be the most famous vessel in America.

The Sequoia was the scene of some of America's most historic events: It was used during the Harding administration to enforce Prohibition; Herbert Hoover promoted his use of the Sequoia during the Depression in a misguided effort to elevate the spirit of a starving public; FDR and Eisenhower planned D-day; Truman decided to drop the bomb on Hiroshima and later conducted the world's first nuclear arms control summit; Eisenhower entertained Korean War veterans; Kennedy celebrated his last (46th) birthday party; LBJ lobbied for civil rights legislation, and planned Vietnam War strategy; Nixon negotiated the first arms control treaty with the Soviet Union, and later decided to resign; Gerald Ford conducted cabinet meetings on board; Ronald Reagan met all of the nation's 50 Governors at the Sequoia's gangplank; and George Bush negotiated with the Chinese Premier.


Distinguished Foreign Visitors
Many distinguished foreign visitors have been entertained by Presidents, or conducted serious business with Presidents, on the Sequoia. During World War II, Roosevelt and Eisenhower planned European war strategy with Winston Churchill and Field Marshall Montgomery, respectively. Churchill also enjoyed relaxing on deck while FDR fished in the Potomac River. A year after dropping the nuclear arms control treaty conference with Clement Attlee, the British Prime Minister, and Mackenzie King, the Canadian Prime Minister, who served throughout World War II. Eisenhower allowed Britain's Queen Elizabeth to use the Sequoia during her visit.

LBJ entertained all of the African ambassadors and other leaders. Nixon and Henry Kissinger negotiated with Soviet Premier Leonid Brezhev, the architect of detente, and Soviet Ambassador Anatoly Dobrynin for the first American-Soviet arms control treaty. Gerald Ford negotiated trade issues with Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. Ironically, on approximately the 30th anniversary of Truman deciding (on the Sequoia) to drop a nuclear bomb on Hiroshima, Japanese Emperor Hirhito and his wife came to Washington, D.C. to meet with President Ford and to cruise the Potomac River on the Sequoia. In 1979 George Bush used the Sequoia to negotiate with a Chinese leader.


The Irony of America's First Handicapped-Accessible Boat
The Sequoia may have been America's first handicapped-accessible boat. During the early 1930's, FDR was frustrated that he needed the crews' assistance to move him from deck to deck of the Sequoia. The public was unaware of his frustration since numerous photos were released to the public showing FDR standing on the Sequoia (with hands on the railing). FDR instructed that an elevator be installed between the upper and lower decks. This allowed FDR to travel between the presidential bedroom and the dining room without assistance.

It is ironic that the Sequoia was a handicapped-accessible vessel during a time when no accommodations were made for handicapped people elsewhere, and today, during a time when accommodations for handicapped people are required by law, the Sequoia is not handicapped-accessible. This is because of changed demanded by LBJ. When LBJ used the Sequoia, he was inconvenienced by the lack of a bar at which to mix his favorite drink, a Scotch on the rocks. LBJ instructed that FDR's elevator in the dining room be replaced with a bar which is still in use today.

When Congress passed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Congress was advised that the Act would require significant structural changes to the Sequoia, including the Presidential bedroom. Congress did not want to require such changes to America's Presidential Yacht, so a law was later passed that exempted the Sequoia for ADA compliance.


Presidential Oddities
During Watergate, Nixon used the Sequoia frequently. On at least 88 occasions, Nixon went out on the yacht, often sailing down the Potomac River to Mt. Vernon, where he required Navy personnel to play taps and salute George Washington's tomb. Toward the end of his presidency, Nixon started to believe that the Sequoia was bugged. He then demanded that an electronic shield be built around the entire yacht. This required that small pinholes be drilled six inches apart throughout the entire railing. When the railing is sanded today, these pinholes are revealed.

Truman reportedly became enraged during a poker game in the dining room and damaged the table. The piano on board the Sequoia was installed at the request of Truman.

LBJ watched movies on the top deck by using the smokestack as a screen. The crew were amused to watch LBJ's hair blowing in the wind when watching the movies. LBJ complained both that the doorknob was too small in the Presidential bedroom and the shower was too small for his 6'3" body. So the small doorknob was replaced with a large, Texas-style knob,and the shower floor was lowered three inches.

Winston Churchill spent time with FDR on the Sequoia, and he later complained to FDR that the only thing he didn't like about the Sequoia was the uncomfortable wooden deck chairs (that are still used today). The chairs on the aft salon were made in 1910, and were used by all the Presidents.

Herbert Hoover sailed the Sequoia to Florida, and he preferred to remain dressed in a three-piece suit throughout the voyage.


The Crew's Favorite President
Although a different crew served each President, many Navy personnel served more than one President. The cooks at Camp David also worked on the Sequoia, so they would often see the President. Since the Sequoia was used by all Presidents for relaxation, and especially by pre-war Presidents to escape the heat of Washington, D.C. (before air conditioning was common), the navy crews usually found the Presidents to be in a good mood when on the Sequoia. This was not always the case, however. Herbert Hoover was quite glum during the Depression. Nixon was often brooding during Watergate, especially when he started to believe that his enemies were bugging the Sequoia.

Perhaps the crew's favorite President was John F. Kennedy. He was a young Navy veteran who loved the sea, and he was not too much older than some Navy crew members. Kennedy enjoyed every moment on the Sequoia, including his last birthday party where family and close friends such as actor David Niven. Hoover even put the Sequoia on the cover of his 1932 White House Christmas card.

A starving American public did not care that Hoover was using a 104-foot yacht instead of a 318-foot yacht. The public saw Hoover's use of the Sequoia as an example of a President who was out of touch with the needs of a poor populace.

[Hwyl]

I guess Kerry would have had the pesidential windsurfer.

Bush the elected had/has a Cigarette boat called "Fidelity". He has strange connections to Don Aronow the cigarete builder, who was killed in a drive by shooting.

A kid who set the yard where she was stored on fire was put in federal prison under illogical circumstances.

Here's sequoia, ugly as sin in my opinion

http://www.sequoiayacht.com/

http://www.sequoiayacht.com/images/Gallery/augexterior3%2Ejpg

[Gary E]

If you think it gets a little outa hand around here, read this ...

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/mt/mt-comments.cgi?entry_id=5200

Here are a few....


Posted by: Tony Shifflett on November 21, 2004 at 3:37 PM | PERMALINK
bush can sail as well as he can ride a horse, although the Sequoia is a motor yacht...
It would be a crime for that not very nice, classless person to set foot on the Sequoia, which is a very nice boat.
Anbody who would roar around the Coast of Maine in the god-awful tastless waterbeater the bushe's call a boat does not deserve to be whistled aboard a fine yacht.

Couser
Rockport, Maine


Posted by: Dr Hedley Lamarr on November 21, 2004 at 3:48 PM | PERMALINK
I'm a Republican and I will defend this by pointing out that, as usual, Mr. Drum has selectively paraphrased to achieve his intent. For instance, curious about the presidential yacht, I actually clicked on the link. Yes, it's true, the GOP-controlled congress has approved $2 million in funding to repurchase the boat, which once belonged to the government, and is now worth over $9 million. Look what else Mr. Drum failed to mention:

"Bush proposals cut ... Even Bush's initiatives were not immune to cuts as the bill's GOP chief authors heeded his demands to control spending. His request for development of new nuclear weapons was rejected; his budget for the AmeriCorps volunteer program was sliced 12 percent, and the $2.5 billion he wanted to aid countries adopting democratic practices was slashed by $1 billion."

Mr. Drum selectively left out that the Republicans are actually putting their foot down to try to curb some of the Administration's unbridled discretionary spending habits.

Every other article has something like that, contradicting the line Mr. Drum puts out for his unquestioning visitors.

I highly encourage you to do your own research and think for yourself before blindly accepting Mr. Drum's black-and-white version of the Truth. Truth is, there's a lot more gray than Mr. Drum would have you believe.

Posted by: Matthew S. Schwartz on November 21, 2004 at 3:51 PM | PERMALINK
don't forget the attempt to eliminate the requirement that the executive brach declare assets above a certain amount... for national security reasons, of course.

Posted by: cleek on November 21, 2004 at 3:53 PM | PERMALINK
The name on that last post????

[Norman Bernstein]

I saw Bush 41, along with son Jeb, on his boat last summer, while we were stopping in Kennebunkport on the way to Penobscot Bay. It's a godawful boat (IMHO), one of those 'cigarette' things with huge triple outboard propulsion... follwed by the meanest, baddest looking Secret Service boats you ever saw; they're large black RIB's with the words 'Secret Service' stencilled on the side, manned by crews on dark uniforms with lots of weaponry. Bush keeps his boat at the marina just upriver from Chick's Marina, where we were staying.

The locals say that Bush goes out on the boat nearly every day, in season.

Walker Point, the penninsula where the Bush home is located, is marked on the charts as a restricted area, and a number of white bouys encircle it. However, I've seen lobster boats inside the bouy'd area, so I guess they permit the locals to go in there.

[Bob Cleek]

Sequoia (correct spelling) if often confused with Potomac, which became FDR's "Floating White House" in 1936. Potomac website (http://www.usspotomac.org/)

http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/travel/wwIIbayarea/buildings/pot1_Sunset.jpg

http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/travel/wwIIbayarea/buildings/pot2_USSPOTOMAC_FDRWEBSITE_09-1803a.gif

[ 01-07-2006, 03:45 PM: Message edited by: Bob Cleek ]

[Meerkat]

Originally posted by Gary E:

But why stick the taxpayer's with the cost of maintaining that old bucket of high priced boards. Glad they sold it.By your logic, why maintain the frigate "Constitution?"

We went from maintaining an old yacht to maintaining a pair of 747 sky yachts. Any bets on which was cheaper? ;)

[Mrleft8]

Originally posted by Meerkat:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Gary E:

But why stick the taxpayer's with the cost of maintaining that old bucket of high priced boards. Glad they sold it.By your logic, why maintain the frigate "Constitution?"

We went from maintaining an old yacht to maintaining a pair of 747 sky yachts. Any bets on which was cheaper? ;) </font>[/QUOTE]Why maintain Airforce One? It's pretty much just a prop at this poin...