Sen. John Kerry says he always intended to pay taxes in Massachusetts on his $7 million yacht, but concedes he mishandled the public furor over his decision to dock the vessel in tax-free Rhode Island.

In an interview on Thursday with The Boston Globe, Kerry said he doesn’t believe he dealt with the issue quickly enough or effectively enough, and has “nobody to blame but myself for that.” He added, however, that he did nothing legally wrong.

The Massachusetts Democrat moved to end the controversy on Tuesday by saying he would write Massachusetts a check for about $500,000, whether he owed the money or not.

The 2004 Democratic presidential nominee had been dogged by charges of tax evasion since the Boston Herald first reported one his decision to dock the 76-foot sloop Isabel in Newport, R.I.