Whale Tales
When we asked Rod Johnstone, founder and designer of the famous J Boat, why his first creation was 24 feet long and 9 feet wide, he said, without hesitation, "Because that was the biggest boat I could build in my garage." With a lifetime of sailing experience, a yacht design correspondence course and a dream, Rod built his initial prototype 30 years ago. Little did he know that the boat defined by the size limitations of his garage would become the most popular offshore keelboat in the world, the J/24.
Back then, building boats was a family affair; everyone from his wife Lucia and seven children to local family and friends lent a hand at what they called "fiberglass laminating and boat-lifting parties" (sounds a lot like the "tie-boxing parties" we used to have). In hindsight, they joke that being so close to all those fumes might not have been the best idea, but they all turned out alright. So did J Boats, eventually growing to produce a collection of industry-defining models that can be seen at almost every major race-from Rod and Lucia's favorite regatta in the BVI to our own Thursday night competitions in Greenwich aboard our J/35, affectionately named The Nancy A. With the company ever-expanding to include many larger scale models, it's hard to tell what's in store for J Boats. What's in store for us? Custom J/124 half hulls, which we use to house all our cash registers at retail locations in both Memphis and Greenwich.
Rod is wearing
Lucia is wearing
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