USS Potomac ( AG - 25 ) USS " Potomac " ( AG - 25 ) , formerly USCGC " Electra " , was Franklin Delano Roosevelt ' s presidential yacht from 1936 until his death in 1945 . It is one of only three still existing presidential yachts . On 3 August 1941 , she played a decoy role while Roosevelt held a secret conference to develop the Atlantic Charter . She is now preserved in Oakland , California , as a National Historic Landmark . Service history . 1934 – 1945 . " Potomac " was originally built in 1934 by the Manitowoc Ship Building Company , Manitowoc , Wisconsin as the United States Coast Guard Cutter " Electra " . She was converted to serve as a presidential yacht and commissioned into the United States Navy in 1936 . In the following years , " Potomac " was heavily used by President Franklin D . Roosevelt , for fishing trips and informal political meetings . The second funnel is fake , and concealed the elevator used for raising Roosevelt in his wheelchair in the unlikely event of having to enter lifeboats on the roof . In 1939 the United Kingdom ' s King George VI and Queen Elizabeth travelled with the Roosevelts aboard " Potomac " to George Washington ' s home at Mt . Vernon . On 3 August 1941 , President Roosevelt left Washington to board " Potomac " at the submarine base at New London . " Potomac " then sailed for Appogansett Bay where the President did some fishing and entertained guests including Crown Princess Märtha of Norway . Eventually " Potomac " anchored in Menemsha Bight in Vineyard Sound , where the heavy cruiser already lay at anchor . In the early hours of 5 August " Potomac " came alongside " Augusta " and the President and his party transferred to the warship . " Augusta " then proceeded at high speed to Newfoundland for a clandestine meeting with Winston Churchill . During this meeting , Roosevelt and Churchill agreed to the Atlantic Charter , agreeing to the principles of the Allied partnership during World War II and setting the scene for the United Nations to plan the post - war peace . In the meantime and for security purposes , the President ' s flag continued to be flown from " Potomac " while she transited the Cape Cod Canal to New England waters . A Secret Serviceman , approximating the President in size and affecting his mannerisms when visible from a distance , played a starring role in the deception . Press releases issued daily from " Potomac " led all who read them to believe that the President was really embarked in his yacht on a pleasure cruise . After the meetings , " Augusta " returned the President to " Potomac " on 14 August . After President Roosevelt ' s death , " Potomac " was decommissioned by the Navy , and returned to US Coast Guard custody in November 1945 . 1945 – 1980 . From 1946 she served with the Maryland Tidewater Fisheries Commission , and was sold to Warren G . Toone in April 1960 and used as a private ferry boat between Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands . In January 1964 she was purchased by Elvis Presley for US $ 55 , 000 . Presley offered it to the March of Dimes who could not use it . He then gave it to St . Jude Children ' s Hospital , in Memphis , to sell as a fund raiser . The hospital was able to sell it that same year for US $ 75 , 000 . By 1980 , she was involved in drug smuggling and was seized by the United States Customs Service in San Francisco , then towed to Treasure Island , where she sank . 1980 – present . After being refloated by the U . S . Navy just two weeks later , " Potomac " was sold to the Port of Oakland for $ 15 , 000 and underwent a major restoration . She is now preserved by the Potomac Association , and berthed at Jack London Square in Oakland . She is open to dockside tours and regular cruises on San Francisco Bay . " Potomac " was used in June 2011 to film shipboard scenes of the Paul Thomas Anderson film " The Master " . Actors Joaquin Phoenix , Philip Seymour Hoffman , Amy Adams and others shot scenes aboard the yacht while docked and under way .