36z Downeast Along with classic good looks, unsurpassed quality of construction and superior performance from a modern hull form: MJM’s goal for all its models has been threefold: (1) Create boats that can be easily operated by one person, meaning husband or wife, in the most demanding situations such as when docking or handling in rough seas. (2) Be sure that the boat is as comfortable for 2-person cruising for its size as possible AND fun to use with friends (e.g. 2-3 other couples) on a daily, spur-of-the-moment basis to, for example, go out to dinner, go on a short sunset cruise, watch the local sailboat races, or to take the kids to a secluded beach or island. Boats that remain tied up to a dock except for 3-4 trips a year are not very practical unless they replace one’s year-round home. (3) Be easy to own, e.g. minimal maintenance, operating issues and few restraints when docking, mooring or shipping by truck between residences.

The popular 36z admirably fulfills all these goals: (1) Handling with a combination of a natural-response destroyer wheel in seas and it’s IPS-like joystick control with twin engines at idling speeds around docks. (2) Welcoming for all ages with side-opening doors and single-level cockpit/ pilothouse that seats 12 comfortably on a good day, 6 in any-weather. (3) Ease of Ownership? We know of no other boat that combines the 36z benefits of: Having no exposed wood to maintain on deck; Sterndrives that bounce up, then back down, when striking an underwater object, which when raised are reachable from the swim platform to clear props without going swimming, which can be raised part way for shoal water navigation or all the way for mooring in 17” of water or beaching the boat; Having height dimensions to fit under all 21 bridges (under 9.5 feet) between Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale; Having height and width (12 feet or less) to be trucked without need of chase cars and alternate routing at the price of a 30 footer.