All aboard the USS Potomac. The 19th-century phrase “all aboard,” initially applied to steamships with wooden decks. It comes from the French à bord literally meaning to get on the boat deck’s wooden boards. As railroads gained popularity, the phrase also became a railroad term. As you board the USS Potomac one of the first things you notice is in fact the beautiful teak deck.
For history buffs, you may already know that this ship was the "Floating White House" for our 32nd president, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Herbert Hoover used the Presidential yacht, the USS Sequoia, but FDR considered it too fancy given the Great Depression. Additionally, the Sequoia was a wooden ship, so safety concerns arose regarding FDR's physical limitations. The USS Potomac was originally built to catch alcohol smugglers during Prohibition, but by the time it launched, Prohibition was over. The Potomac needed a new mission. Interestingly, this ship, designed to catch booze smugglers, decades later fell into the hands of drug smugglers plying their trade up and down the California coast leading to its seizure and sinking in the San Francisco Bay. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
In 1936, FDR had the ship retrofitted to his needs with a modest stateroom without any gaudy gold accents. One of the ship's two smokestacks was converted into a hidden elevator operated manually by rope and pulley. The ladders on the Potomac are rather steep, so this improvement allowed President Roosevelt to get below. The ship was moored within easy distance of the White House, allowing the President to escape the pressures of the office with relative ease during both the Depression and WWII. Many historic events occurred on the ship. As a result you'd think it deserved preservation. However, when Truman came to office, he wanted a larger fancier yacht which he found in the USS Williamsburg. It was a 1931 243-foot luxury yacht built for multimillionaire Hugh J. Chishom. Right before WWII it was refitted as a warship. The ship was then refitted again to become Truman's home away from home while the White House was being renovated. The USS Potomac was disposed of. It changed hands many times including to Elvis Presley and Danny Thomas, eventually descending into drug running.
Smokestack hiding FDR's manual rope and pulley elevator
Once seized in 1980, the USS Potomac was ingloriously towed to Treasure Island where it was moored. Through neglect the walls of the hull had become thin. While moored in its berth, the hull was pierced and the vessel sank. The ship was raised from the dead and auctioned off for a mere $15,000. A non-profit association was formed and raised $5 million dollars to restore it to its presidential glory days. They did a fabulous job. You can now cruise the San Francisco Bay on FDR's yacht, catch incredible scenery, and learn more about our history for a reasonable fee that helps preserve the ship. Countless volunteer hours are evident in the ship’s use and maintenance, including those spent restoring the teak decking. All aboard.
Take a walk with Birkenstock.
