A lifesaver is hung on the USS Sequoia presidential yacht at Washington Channel May 29, 2003 in Washington, DC. Built in 1925, the USS Sequoia was used by every president from Herbert Hoover, until it was decommissioned by Jimmy Carter in 1977. The yacht is now privately owned by attorney and entrepreneur Gary J. Silversmith. (Photo: Alex Wong, Getty Images) 
 
 The years of Delaware court fights over the presidential yacht, USS Sequoia, appear to be over. 
 
 But the-once stately vessel, called by some "America's most famous boat," has spent the time rotting in a Virginia shipyard and will likely require millions of dollars in repairs and possibly an exterminator before it can safely set sail again. 
 
 The good news is that its new owners won't owe a penny to the previous owners following a long Chancery Court battle over possession of the historic ship. 
 
 The judge in the case, Vice Chancellor Sam Glasscock III, wrote a 21-page opinion released this week that sums up the poor vessel's recent plight. 
 
 "The Sequoia, an elderly and vulnerable wooden yacht, is sitting on an inadequate cradle on an undersized marine railway in a moribund boatyard on the western shore of the Chesapeake, deteriorating and, lately, home to raccoons," wrote Glasscock in the opinion. 
 
 It was a sad state for a ship where Franklin Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy, among other presidents, hosted dignitaries and friends. 
 
 Glasscock ruled that FE Partners, a Washington, DC investment group that specializes in historic ship restorations could purchase the Sequoia at an adjusted price of zero dollars. The decision capped years of legal wrangling over ownership and finally, the purchase price of the ship. The vessel was owned by Sequoia Presidential Yacht Group LLC. Washington Attorney Gary Silversmith was the principal owner and offered the vessel for charters along the Potomac River until it was pulled for repairs. 
 
 “FE Partners is committed to restoring and preserving the Sequoia in cooperation with the U.S. Coast Guard so that future generations of Americans will be able to enjoy the storied past of this magnificent yacht," said Richard Graf, general counsel of FE Partners in an email. 
 
 Earlier this year, marine experts estimated the cost of repairing the national landmark to seaworthy condition ranged from an estimated $400,000 to upwards of $4 million if the hull has to be significantly rebuilt. 
 
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 Once that work is complete, the value of the repaired and seaworthy former presidential yacht would be between $7.8 million and $13 million, said Earl McMillen III, founder of McMillen Yachts in Newport, Rhode Island. 
 
 The historic yacht, designed by John Trumpy and built at the Mathis Yacht Building Company of Camden, New Jersey, in 1925, is in dry dock in Deltaville, Virginia. 
 
 The yacht had earlier been awarded to FE Partners, LLC, based on another Chancery Court decision. 
 
 In this latest decision, Glasscock was asked to decide the value of the yacht and whether the former owner, Sequoia Presidential Yacht Group LLC was owed money for the vessel. 
 
 The deal was complicated because FE Partners loaned money to the Sequoia Group to make repairs. If the loan soured, FE had an option to purchase the yacht for $7.8 million. 
 
 It was Glasscock's task to assess the costs and outstanding debts. He concluded that FE Partners owed the Presidential Yacht Group, owned by Washington attorney Gary Silversmith, nothing in exchange for the yacht. 
 
 A "President's Eyes Only" folder lies on the bed used by presidents aboard the yacht Sequoia, Wednesday, July 31, 2002, in Washington. The yacht, first recruited by President Herbert Hoover, was reportedly one of the few places in Washington where President Richard Nixon felt comfortable. After 77 years afloat, the Sequoia has stories to tell, even though it hasn't been a presidential cruiser since Jimmy Carter sold it off in 1977. (Photo: PABLO MARTINEZ MONSIVAIS, AP) 
 
 "I find under the contracts that Silversmith was obligated to maintain the vessel such that it was safe, structurally sound and fully equipped for its intended use as a Potomac River cruise vessel," Glasscock wrote. 
 
 Instead, he found there was little evidence that happened, based on testimony from Silversmith's expert. 
 
 "I am left with only one side’s expert reports and testimony that bear on the question of the cost of Silversmith’s obligation to maintain the Sequoia ... Silversmith did not direct his expert to do an inspection that would allow him to answer the pertinent question, which is what would it take to put this vessel" in shape to meet the loan contract provisions, Glasscock wrote. 
 
 Meanwhile, FE Partner's experts told a sad tale of the condition of the yacht, describing rotting wood and a structural decline that was so significant it changed the shape of the hull. 
 
 For the last year and a half, the Sequoia has been on blocks in the boatyard. Initially, it was protected from the elements by shrink wrap but that covering was removed. 
 
 The damage done while dry stored is a fraction of what already haunts the vessel. McMillen said there is extensive rot in the hull and several of the structural blocks which make up the hull are cracked. It should have new wiring, new plumbing and new marine-grade air conditioning. 
 
 His total estimated cost to repair the boat ranged from $3.9 to $4.2 million. 
 
 The USS Sequoia, with Queen Margrethe and Prince Consort Henrik of Denmark aboard, departs for a cruise on the Potomac River in Washington, D.C, in 2011. U.S. presidents had used the yacht until it was sold in the 1970s. (Photo: YURI GRIPAS/AFP/Getty Images) 
 
 He recommended it be slid onto an ocean-going barge and shipped to Rhode Island for repairs. The area has the expert shipwrights needed to do the work, he said. 
 
 In her present condition "would you ever put passengers on her?" asked an attorney for FE Partners. 
 
 "No," McMillen said. 
 
 "Would you ever put her in the water?" the lawyer asked. 
 
 "No," McMillen said. 
 
 Silversmith, during the court hearing, questioned whether there weren't capable boatyards along the Chesapeake Bay where the work could be done at less cost. 
 
 Restoring and repairing wooden boats is "a lost art," McMillen said. "I think, quite frankly, that's why they don't build wooden boats anymore. They are wonderful works of art." 
 
 The Sequoia's history makes it more than just an aging wooden boat. Franklin Delano Roosevelt hosted Winston Churchill on its deck; John F. Kennedy celebrated his last birthday on board the Sequoia; and Richard M. Nixon spent a night in 1974 with a bottle of whiskey at a shipboard piano before he resigned the presidency. 
 
 The 104-foot wooden vessel has changed hands several times in recent years since President Jimmy Carter had it sold at auction in 1977 for $286,000. 
 
 It fell into disrepair before it was purchased and restored by its current owner, Silversmith, a Washington lawyer and real estate developer. Silversmith said he paid $1.9 million in 2000, and sank millions into repairs. 
 
 Silversmith operated the boat for charter on the Potomac River for many years. He said that he had been maintaining and caring for the boat all along and even took it to the Chesapeake Maritime Museum in St. Michaels for repair. The boat was regularly hauled out of the water for maintenance. 
 
 Silversmith did not respond to a request for comment. His attorney declined to comment. FE Partners expect to issue a statement later Tuesday. 
 
 Contact Molly Murray at (302) 463-3334 or mmurray@delawareonline.com. Follow her on Twitter @MollyMurraytnj. 
 
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 ‘Elderly and vulnerable’ wooden vessel has become home to raccoons, says judge in handing over national landmark to financial group 
 
 Sold for $0: Sequoia, the last US presidential yacht, is repossessed 
 
 The last US presidential yacht, Sequoia, has been sold for zero dollars after an investment group won a lengthy court battle over the vessel – which remains listed as a national historic landmark but has become “home to raccoons” as it languishes in dry dock. 
 
 Presidents from Herbert Hoover to Jimmy Carter once entertained dignitaries and diplomats on board the 104-foot wooden yacht or simply sought refuge there from the Oval Office. But Carter had it sold at auction in 1977 for $286,000. 
 
 It changed hands several times, and was used to conduct entertaining and sightseeing tours of the Potomac river from its dock in Washington DC, with four-hour charters costing $10,000 plus food and drink. 
 
 But most recently it has lain rotting at a shipyard in Deltaville, Virginia. 
 
 Delaware judge Sam Glasscock ruled on Monday that FE Partners – an investment entity formed by Washington DC-based Equator Capital Group and members of India’s wealthy Timblo family – could exercise an option to acquire the Sequoia at an adjusted option price of zero. 
 
 
 
 “The Sequoia, an elderly and vulnerable wooden yacht, is sitting on an inadequate cradle on an undersized marine railway in a moribund boatyard on the western shore of the Chesapeake, deteriorating and, lately, home to raccoons,” Glasscock noted. 
 
 Monday’s ruling stems from a dispute involving a $7.5m loan from FE Partners to the boat’s owners, Sequoia Presidential Yacht Group LLC, led by Washington lawyer and businessman Gary Silversmith. 
 
 
 
 The agreement gave FE Partners the right to exercise an option to purchase the yacht for $7.8m in the event of a default. 
 
 After a lengthy dispute in which Sequoia tried to stop FE Partners exercising its purchase option, the judge found that the loan was fraudulently induced and eventually reduced the price to zero after deducting expected repair costs, including replacing the wooden hull, and other liabilities. 
 
 The judge rejected Silversmith’s contention that it would cost only about $310,000 to address problems outlined in Coast Guard inspections and to get the Sequoia floating again. 
 
 “Today the court ruled that the lender can buy the Sequoia with a credit bid that essentially allows them to not pay any additional money at closing,” Silversmith said. “Of course we are disappointed. We remain ready, willing and able to pay off the lender in full but unfortunately it appears that we will be denied that opportunity.” 
 
 
 
 FE Partners general counsel Richard Graf said: “FE Partners is committed to restoring and preserving the Sequoia in cooperation with the US Coast Guard so that future generations of Americans will be able to enjoy the storied past of this magnificent yacht.” 
 
 With the Associated Press 

 (Reuters) - A Delaware judge said on Monday the former presidential yacht, the USS Sequoia, could be acquired by an investment group for zero dollars, ending a years-long dispute over the storied ship once used by John F. Kennedy. 
 
 U.S. presidents for decades entertained dignitaries on the 104-foot (32-metre) wooden Sequoia until it was sold by Jimmy Carter in 1977. 
 
 Washington attorney Gary Silversmith bought the yacht in 2000 and used it for private charters. In 2012, Silversmith borrowed $5 million from FE Partners LLC, which is backed by the Timblo family of India, to help fund needed repairs. 
 
 The loan set off years of legal wrangling while the historic vessel, built in 1926 in Camden, New Jersey, was neglected. 
 
 “The Sequoia, an elderly and vulnerable wooden yacht, is sitting on an inadequate cradle on an undersized marine railway in a moribund boatyard on the western shore of the Chesapeake, deteriorating and, lately, home to raccoons,” Delaware Judge Sam Glasscock wrote in his Monday ruling. 
 
 Silversmith sued in 2013 to block FE Partners from exercising its right under the loan to buy the yacht. 
 
 Glasscock ruled last year the lender had the right to purchase the ship for $7.8 million, minus various costs including the initial $2.49 million loan disbursement, because of a default on the loan. The two sides spent the past year fighting over the final deductions from the purchase price. 
 
 On Monday, Glasscock said the purchase option could be exercised for zero dollars, reflecting the extensive work required to make the Sequoia safe to use. 
 
 “We remain willing and able to pay off the lender, but unfortunately it appears that we will be denied that opportunity,” Silversmith said in an email, adding he was concerned the yacht was being acquired by foreign investors. “We are concerned that there is nothing to prevent the Sequoia from going overseas.” 
 
 But FE Partners General Counsel Richard Graf said in an emailed statement: “FE Partners is committed to restoring and preserving the Sequoia in cooperation with the U.S. Coast Guard so that future generations of Americans will be able to enjoy the storied past of this magnificent yacht.”
– How much would you pay for the presidential yacht on which FDR hosted Winston Churchill, JFK held his last birthday, and Nixon drank a bottle of whiskey before resigning? You probably overbid. The News Journal reports investment group FE Partners will acquire the USS Sequoia for $0. The 104-foot yacht was built in 1926, according to Reuters. It was used by presidents for years until Carter sold it for $286,000 at auction in 1977, the Guardian reports. The Sequoia changed hands multiple times before being acquired by lawyer Gary Silversmith in 2000. He used it for private charters before borrowing multiple millions from FE Partners for repairs in 2012. That kicked off a years-long legal battle between the two parties. This week, judge Sam Glasscock found Silversmith fell down on his part of the loan agreement to keep "America's most famous boat" in good condition. "The Sequoia ... is sitting on an inadequate cradle on an undersized marine railway in a moribund boatyard ... deteriorating and, lately, home to raccoons," Glasscock writes. The loan agreement allowed FE Partners to buy the Sequoia back, and after deducting a number of costs—including repairs estimated at potentially more than $4 million—Glasscock ruled "free" to be a fair price. Silversmith says he's concerned FE Partners, which is backed by a wealthy Indian family, will move the Sequoia overseas. But the investment group says it plans to restore it "so that future generations of Americans will be able to enjoy the storied past of this magnificent yacht." (Eva Braun's things, found in an abandoned bunker, have been sold.)