Former Presidential Yacht May Be Sold

The Sequoia, that motorized, mahogany-laden yacht of eight presidents, has been a prized piece of Washington memorabilia since the federal government purchased it during Prohibition to chase down rumrunners on the Chesapeake Bay. Now it might be sold again.

A maritime museum in Connecticut, Mystic Seaport, has acquired an option to purchase the 80-year-old vessel, which could mean relocating it more than 350 miles north of its current berth.

Tom Smith, vice president of the company that owns the Sequoia, said the museum had six months to negotiate a price. Smith said the company’s principal, Gary Silversmith, a lawyer who paid $1.9 million for the yacht in 2000, would sell to a not-for-profit institution that had the expertise to care for it.