Epoxy resin is 25 percent stronger than the polyester resin used in most boatbuilding, with higher elongation properties for greater durability. Epoxy also has superior moisture resistance. The methods and materials employed by Boston BoatWorks create stronger, yet lighter hulls that require less horsepower than the competitors and enjoy far, far better fuel efficiency getting up to TWICE the miles per gallon of similar boats at speeds of 25 knots.
MJMs are also built for longevity. However, the powerboat the Johnstones really wanted, one that met their fairly reasonable requirements, did not exist. So Bob Johnstone once again created a company to build the exact boat he sought.
The wish list? As for build, Johnstone knew from the outset that any prototype of a production MJM would have to be made of strong, lightweight composites, precisely the construction medium that Mark Lindsay had been expertly working in for more than 30 years at that point, always evolving with advances in materials technology. BBW is the sole builder of these boats, whereas J Boats has had more than one licensed manufacturer globally.
The BoatWorks qualifies as a bona fide modern marine business on a venerable commercial waterfront where there was none. There are no guarantees as to how the people onboard would fare running at speed in such conditions. The reason so many of his boats have been so successful is that he is always searching for strong, lightweight structures, and was among the first builders to use—in boats—what were previously thought of as exclusively aerospace materials. Taking information gleaned in a structures course at MIT, Lindsay would test samples to failure in the materials lab.
Precisely because the product was small, he could test many iterations within a relatively short time frame. We knew it would be hard to get a successful bond, and just kept trying until we invented a solvent and technique that usually worked. One of the more interesting solutions was a polyurethane gelcoat developed for automotive parts. Searching for new answers is what maintains the fascination in this profession.
So we turned to a builder of…racing sailboats, Mark Lindsay. You can build a lighter boat. You optimize the fiber-to-resin ratio. You control that ratio to true prepreg quality. You can run a range of fabric reinforcements. You can run a range of resin viscosities. You can build a boat faster than with infusion. You get very good core-to-skin bonds, once bagged. Being under a vacuum bag for the infusion process is cleaner in terms of odor and VOCs.
MJMImpregnator machine design and complexity vary with the application. Art Armellini and I have debugged it over the years, thanks to plenty of customer input. It covers setup, calibration, operation, and cleaning, along with a parts list and drawings. The shop is humming with assembly and construction activity from one end of the building to the other.
Those boats became too big for the space available, given other boats of different sizes in various stages of construction and assembly. MJMs are also noted for their ease of docking which takes advantage of flush-deck design, side boarding doors at dock height and the latest joystick and hovering technologies to make even the least experienced crew member capable of safely bringing the boat into a slip.
MJM was the first down east design to offer the roll-stopping option of a Seakeeper on all its models and offers it standard on the 50zand 53z. Founder Bob Johnstone, his wife Mary and son Peter lead the company with the passion and experience of true yachtsmen. They develop the boats with Doug Zurn, engage with the building process at Boston BoatWorks, and they own and run each new model exhaustively to make sure it meets their highest expectations for performance, usability, and quality.
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