It's been that way since the submarine force fully modernized with nuclear power with the decommissioning of its last diesel-powered submarine, the USS Dolphin (AGSS-555), on Jan. 15, 2007.

Since the 1880s, U.S. presidents had been using yachts, like the USS Despatch, USS Dolphin, and USS Sylph, to host foreign dignitaries and serve as recreational space. By the 1900s, the president had ...