Boating Lifestyle Evolution: Sailors Add Power
Veteran racing sailor Augie Diaz joins Bob Johnstone in the high-tech powerboat world of MJM Yachts.
September 3, 2014
Remember the cartoon of the older sailor down on his knees, apologizing to God for enjoying his ride on a friend’s powerboat? That could be Bob Johnstone. Or Augie Diaz. Or me. All of us are lifelong sailors, and yet on a recent summer morning (in the self-proclaimed sailing capital of the world, Newport RI), we sat around talking about—yup—powerboats.
MJM Yachts is the brainchild of Bob Johnstone, a lifelong sailor.
Bob was one of the original founders of J/Boats, a sailboat company known for its innovations. (The J/24, J/105, and J/111 were all popular and successful additions to the sailing world.)
Bob claims that his knack for creating popular new boating technology is just an accident of demographics; born ten years ahead of the baby boom, his transitions to the next stage in his own boating life have often been just in time to tool up and build boats that will appeal to the boat-buying market. “As Mary [Johnstone, Bob’s wife] and I got older, we went from sailing small boats to sailing larger boats to finally buying a powerboat as a tender,” Bob said.
Today, demographic accident or not, Bob’s the owner of a powerboat company called MJM Yachts.
The J/24 started a new trend when it was first launched in 1977: small keelboat sailing. Photo courtesy J/Boats.
By 2002, that family powerboat Bob and Mary bought as a tender had become the family cruiser, and the sailboat had become the day boat. So “I started thinking about ways to make the powerboat a better cruising experience,” Bob said. After working up renderings for a 34 footer with naval architect Doug Zurn, “I tried everybody in the powerboat business, because I didn’t really want to own another boat company. I figured it had to be high-tech and narrow. Most 35 footers were tanks... but Mary and I were going to run this thing alone, so we wanted to make it easy.”
Finally, Bob fell back on a sailing contact: Mark Lindsay at Boston Boat Works. “Mark was ready to roll.” And so began the MJM line of lightweight, high-tech, fuel-efficient cruising powerboats.
Twelve years later, Bob has brought another sailing contact into the MJM family: Augie Diaz, who recently signed on as the Florida dealer for MJM Yachts. Augie is a Star and Snipe World Champion, as well as the 2003 Rolex Yachtsman of the Year, but there he was sitting in that same living room, talking about "going to school," for systems rather than for sail shape.
Augie's intensity is well-known by his sailing competitors. Photo: John Payne Photography
“I wanted to work in the marine industry,” he explained. “But I didn’t want it to be in sailing, because that’s my hobby. MJM is a perfect fit. Beautiful high-tech boats that perform really well. Now I just have to learn about them.”
When asked what the biggest challenge was for a racing sailor switching over to high-tech power, Augie had a quick answer. “The systems and the motors and all the stuff I never had to deal with,” he replied. “Understanding all the things that you have to do to get a boat like this ready to go. Fortunately I’ve had really good support.”
Anyone who’s watched Augie crane a Star boat into the water, and then sail that classic design around a windy race course without losing its fragile (and expensive) mast, can be sure Augie will master these new challenges. And "it’s pretty easy with these boats," he says, pointing out that he even lets prospective buyers dock the 36z.
But why is this internationally recognized sailor so excited to learn about powerboats?
“You can go places,” he explained. “I went for a cruise with my six year old granddaughter and three year old grandson. It was spectacular—I couldn’t have imagined how much fun something like that would be.
“In the middle of the cruise I had to come back and drop off my son-in-law and the [screaming] three year old. Fortunately the boats are really fast.” (He laughs.) “And then when we got to the dock, the six year old says, ‘We’re going back, right?’ So 30 knots, right back to Elliott Key. We overnighted there, went snorkeling the next day. It was fantastic.”
Bob Johnstone and Augie Diaz: two sailors excited about going places with MJM Yachts.
“Going places” is a large part of Bob’s interest as well. “The old style of cruising is you go out and you anchor somewhere," Bob explained. "You’re really committed to the boat. That was fine when we were younger and had more time.
“Now, Mary and I go from say St. Augustine to Savannah in 6.5 hours, averaging 26 knots on the Intercoastal Waterway. We get there at two or three in the afternoon and have time to get out and walk around, go to shops or explore. We know several people in each port, so we get together for dinner. The next day we might go out on the boat for lunch and cruise around. We get a chance to catch up and do something that’s special for them.”
Bob and Augie also share an interest in reducing the discomforts of boating. “One of the big differences when you go from sail to power,” Bob explained, “is that a sailboat is very steady in a seaway. Powerboats roll. So on the new boat we’ve made the Seakeeper standard.”
The new MJM 50z will come standard with the Seakeeper gyro system. Photo courtesy MJM Yachts
The “new boat” is the MJM50z, which will debut at the 2014 Newport Boat Show. The "Seakeeper" is a third-party gyro system that counters the boat's side-to-side roll. According to Bob, Sea Ray has also recently decided to make it standard equipment on their 650L. “If it was just us doing it, it might take another couple or three years before people jump on the bandwagon," he admitted. "But with both of us making it standard, it pretty much covers the waterfront in terms of styles of boats.”
MJM currently produces four models: the 29z, the 34z, the 36z, and the 40z. Epoxy composite construction lowers the center of gravity enough that the 40z has been ISO Certified Category A Ocean, one of only two 40 footers in the world to achieve such a high level of safety rating.
Such high standards come at a high price, of course. But for a significant segment of the boating population, comfort and safety are worth paying top dollar. And when asked how the boats were selling, Bob made a startling prediction: “Powerboating’s never going to be the same again."
“It’s like when we came out with the J/105 with the asymmetric spinnaker,” he continued. “Everybody thought it was kind of a joke. And now just about all sailboats have some sort of a sprit and a spinnaker. Because what that did is solved a big problem in sailing, by making sailing downwind easier and less of a battle. How do you enjoy it more, how do you get more out of the boat? The same thing is true here: How can a powerboat be more comfortable and more pleasant to be on, over a wider range of conditions?”
Sprit sailing is now standard for modern cruising and racing boats. Photo courtesy J/Boats.
The solution, according to both Bob and Augie, is the MJM line.
“I’m really excited by this opportunity,” Augie said. “Every time I go out I learn something new.”
For these two older sailors, power is a natural evolution in their boating lifestyles—and they are not down on their knees apologizing about that, to God or anyone. Can the rest of us be far behind?
For more information, visit MJM Yachts.
