Fleet profile

Potomac

50.30 m 1934 United States Unknown ★ 1 Star Superyacht Guide Award

Key Facts

Length: 50.30 m
Beam: 7.70 m
Year: 1934
Type: Motor yacht
Country: United States
Charter availability: Unknown

Previous / Project Names

Previous names

USS Potomac; Electra; USCGC Electra (WPC-187)

Superyacht Guide Award

Superyacht Guide Yacht Star

★☆☆☆☆

1 Star - Listed with recognised merit

Superyacht Guide Awards are editorial ratings based on available information and review criteria.

Potomac is a 50.3-metre historic motor yacht launched in 1934 by Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company in Wisconsin as the United States Coast Guard cutter Electra (WPC-187). Built in steel for offshore patrol work, the vessel measured 165 feet overall and originally carried twin Winton diesel engines developing a combined 1,340 bhp.

The vessel was transferred for presidential service in 1935, renamed USS Potomac and commissioned by the United States Navy in March 1936. She became Franklin D. Roosevelt's presidential yacht and informal Floating White House. Her conversion included a hand-operated lift concealed within a false after funnel to assist Roosevelt between decks. In June 1939 she carried Roosevelt, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth during the British royal visit, and in August 1941 a presidential cruise aboard Potomac formed part of the deception concealing Roosevelt's secret departure to meet Winston Churchill ahead of the Atlantic Charter.

After Roosevelt's death, Potomac left presidential service and passed through a series of government and private roles. Elvis Presley briefly acquired the vessel in 1964 before donating her for charitable benefit. She was seized by U.S. Customs in 1980 in connection with a drug-smuggling case and subsequently sank while impounded. The Port of Oakland acquired the damaged vessel and supported an extensive restoration. Today Potomac is preserved at Jack London Square in Oakland as an operational historic vessel and National Historic Landmark.

Gallery

Franklin D. Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt with King George VI and Queen Elizabeth aboard USS Potomac, 9 June 1939. Harris & Ewing / Library of Congress, digital ID hec.26817.

Primary image

Potomac, Presidential Yacht

Specifications

Length	50.30 m
Beam	7.70 m
Construction	Steel hull

Yacht intelligence

Superyacht Passport

A dynamic record assembled from Superyacht Guide yacht data, sourced ownership records, construction milestones, valuations, sale listings and related reporting.

Identity

Current name: Potomac
Launch year: 1934

Former / other names

USS Potomac; Electra; USCGC Electra (WPC-187)

Names are displayed as recorded in Superyacht Guide. Their chronological order is not implied unless supported by dated evidence.

Ownership & provenance

No sourced ownership record is currently published for this yacht.

Market snapshot

No current Superyacht Guide valuation is published.

Yacht timeline

Dated milestones and Superyacht Guide records, ordered chronologically.

1934

Launch year

19 Aug 2026

USS Potomac: The Extraordinary Life of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Presidential Yacht

Superyacht Guide news

Passport evidence

U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office — Electra, 1934 (WPC-187)

Supports: identity, builder, launch date, dimensions, construction, original machinery

U.S. National Park Service — USS Potomac

Supports: presidential service, wartime history, postwar history, restoration

Association for the Preservation of the Presidential Yacht USS Potomac — History

Supports: presidential conversion, history, preservation, current status

Superyacht Guide distinguishes sourced records, estimates and reported information. Evidence shown here reflects sources attached to this yacht record and may be updated as new verified information becomes available.

Refit planning for Potomac

Comprehensive condition-led refit planning

Approximate yacht age

92 years

For an older yacht, structural condition, machinery lifecycle, piping, electrical infrastructure, fire safety, hotel systems and preservation objectives may all merit investigation. No requirement is inferred without survey and technical evidence.

Age does not prove that this yacht needs a refit, and no refit cost is inferred from its estimated value.

Open Refit Planner

Where can Potomac go?

317 public marina records are recorded with a maximum yacht length of at least 50.30 m.