Browsing: MJM

On Watch with Peter Janssen
By

New MJM 4: Fast, Quiet – and Fun

“Hang on,” warned Peter Johnstone, the chairman of MJM Boats, as he nailed the throttles all the way forward on his new 46-foot MJM 4 off Newport, Rhode Island. And WOW! The acceleration was fast, almost explosive, as the twin 600-hp V12 Mercury Verado outboards shot it forward. It not only was fast, but it also was smooth, seamless, and quiet. “The 4 is the fastest, and quietest, boat we’ve made,” Bob Johnstone, Peter’s father, told me a few days later at the Newport boat show, where the 4 was named Best New Powerboat. Bob Johnstone founded MJM in 2002…

Cruising Life
By

MJM, Sabre, Garmin, All Winners at Newport

MJM was the big winner at the Newport International Boat Show, walking away with two awards (Best Powerboat in the show and Best Powerboat Over 30 Feet), while Sabre won the People’s Choice award for the most popular boat, and the Garmin inReach Mini 2 Marine Bundle won the Best Electronics Award. The Everglades 285cc won in the Best Powerboat Under 30 Feet category. The awards are for domestic and foreign products launched in the U.S. after April 1, 2022, that made their boat show debuts in Newport. Show attendees selected the People’s Choice Award; all the other awards were…

Boat Reviews
By

MJM Building New 42 Couples Cruiser

MJM just announced that it’s making a new 42, an all-weather, all-conditions 48-knot cruiser with what the company calls a “Carolina Downeast” design and more than a touch of class. The company, now based in Washington, North Carolina, says the 42 is the evolution of a couple’s liveaboard performance cruiser. They developed it with Michael Peters, the Sarasota designer who’s done everything from Hinckleys and superyachts to speedboats, and input from the owners of MJM 40s, one of the builder’s most popular cruisers. The 42’s helm deck is enclosed for total climate control and comfort, but it can be opened…

Cruising Life
By

I Just Built My New (Virtual) MJM 35

I just built my new MJM 35 (see the picture above). It was easy, and it was fun. You can build yours too. I’ve had a soft spot in my heart for MJMs for many years now. Even before I tested their then-new, four-outboard 53z in July, 2019, in Newport, Rhode Island, I’d driven all their new boats, all inboards, all designed by Doug Zurn. (I’ve also had another soft spot for Zurn’s classic Down East designs ever since I met him during the launch of Billy Joel’s 57-foot commuter Vendetta in 2005, which Zurn also designed. In fact, while…

Cruising Life
By

Trends 2020: More Cruising Boats with Outboard Power

Perhaps the strongest trend in recent years has been the rapid growth of outboard power on cruising boats, even on some of the most traditional brands. The reasons are easy to understand, and they start with performance. Outboard boats are fun, they’re fast and agile, and they’re easy to drive and park. Outboards also are easier to repair, maintain, and ultimately replace, if necessary, than traditional inboards are, and they open up a lot of space inside the boat where inboards used to be. And you don’t  have to worry about a lot of through-hulls, shafts, and struts. The HCB…

On Watch with Peter Janssen
By

MJM Launches New Zurn-Designed 38-foot Day Boat

MJM just announced that it’s entering the growing day boat market with a new 38-foot Dual Console 3z. It has the same Doug Zurn design that the company has used on all its Down East cruisers since it was started in 2002. In a webinar introducing the new boat, Peter Johnstone, the MJM chairman, said the new day boat is designed “to address the way people boat around the country. Our outboard boats enabled more people to enjoy our brand. This is the way people are boating today. We’ll always have our express cruisers as the core of our brand,…

Cruising Life
By

7 Great New Power Cruising Boats at the Newport Show

About 340 boats will be on display at the Newport International Boat Show, which runs from Thursday, Sept. 12, through Sunday, Sept. 15. But only a handful will be new cruising powerboats that are being shown in the U.S. for the first time. Here’s a look at some of them: Bruckmann Abaco 47 (pictured above):  Built on the success of the popular Bruckmann Abaco 40, the new 47, designed by Mark Ellis, is a classic Down East cruiser with a long sheer, low profile, sharp entry and raked windshield. Built for extended cruising, the innovative hull is designed to plane…

On Watch with Peter Janssen
By

We Test the New MJM 53z: Fast, Fun and Elegant

It’s one thing to read about a new boat. It’s quite another to actually drive it. I certainly had expected to enjoy the new long, low, elegant MJM 53z, with its four 400-hp Mercury Verado outboards. After all, I’d already driven its predecessor, the MJM 50z, with three 435-hp Volvo IPS600 pod drives, as well as every other MJM model. But once I got behind the wheel of the 53z I realized it was even better – and a lot more fun – than I had anticipated. One of the main reasons outboards have become so popular lately, even on…

Boat Reviews
By

MJM 35Z: An Elegant, Fast, Outboard Cruiser

We first reported on plans for the new MJM 35Z back in September. Now we can flesh out the details of this latest collaboration between Douz Zurn, the designer, and Bob Johnstone, the founder of MJM, and so far the new outboard-powered 35Z is living up to our expectations. It’s no surprise that the new boat has all the classic Down East lines of earlier MJMs, with its low profile, gentle tumblehome and long sheerline. Or that it’s a serious offshore boat, with a 20-degree deadrise at the transom and the highest rating for stability and seaworthiness for any boat…

Boat Reviews
By

MJM 50Z: Fast, Seaworthy and Creative

The “Z” in the elegant, low-profile MJM 50Z stands for Zurn, as in Doug Zurn, the creative Marblehead, Mass., yacht designer, who teamed up with Bob Johnstone, who started MJM Yachts in 2002. This flagship MJM is fast (I drove it at 38.7 knots in Long Island Sound), safe (with an ISO Category A offshore rating) and comfortable (with a standard Seakeeper gyrostabilizer). With a 15-foot beam, it’s also slender, meaning it moves through the water easily and efficiently. Inside, the master stateroom forward has a large berth but also a desk and lounge chair; it’s a social area as…