Manufacturer Profile:

Jones Brothers Marine

A North Carolina class act...


In this day of corporate conglomerate boat companies, with designs that seem to be based more on "me-too" cosmetic styling than purpose-driven function, it’s refreshing when you run into a family-owned boat company that emphasizes functional design, and whose primary goal is simply to build the best fishing boat possible at a reasonable price.

Jones Brothers Marine (JBM) is one such company. Founded in 1989 by brothers Donnie and Rob Jones, they began by building fiberglass bateaus (large, flat-bottomed skiffs) designed to fish the calm, skinny waters surrounding company headquarters in Morehead City, NC.

Early efforts were constructed along traditional johnboat lines, and their boats developed a reputation for being tough, reliable boats that were easy on the pocketbook. But like all conventional flat-bottomed boats, they exhibited a tendency to skid in turns, a potentially dangerous trait that could lead to flipping the hull.

With customer input, JBM developed a bottom skeg for their bateaus. "We had to change the design some," says Donnie, "but the difference in handling was eye-opening." The hulls tracked well, even in high-speed turns. Skidding was gone.

Shortly after they introduced the bateaus, JBM ventured into the world of V-hull boats. JBM’s neighborhood of Morehead City is home to a number of boat companies, and they were able to take advantage of that large pool of experienced boat builders. Donnie and Rob put together a number of prototype hulls, and after they spent a couple of years learning what worked and what didn’t, they put the finishing touches on their Cape Fisherman 18. The boat quickly garnered kudos for its no-nonsense layout, and its smooth ride in the tumultuous waters off Cape Hatteras. A number of guides and hard-core fishermen in the region began running these boats, and the rest, as they say, was history.

Shortly after the Cape Fisherman 18 was introduced, they were approached by one of their loyal customers: a fly-fisherman and boat fanatic by the name of Tom Earnhardt. Tom is well known in salt water fly-fishing circles, and is the author of two books: "Boats for Fishermen", and "Fly-fishing the Tidewaters", both published by Lyons Press. With Tom’s urging and advice, Rob and Donnie began transforming the Cape Fisherman 18 into a more specialized hull for fly- and light- tackle fishing, for both near- and off-shore waters. The hull eventually grew a foot, and evolved into their Light Tackle Series 19’.

As the popularity of the Cape Fisherman 18 and the LTS 19 grew, Rob and Donnie began receiving numerous customization requests and inquiries about longer hulls. A 20 foot version of the Cape Fisherman was released next, followed by 23’ versions of both the Cape Fisherman and the LTS, and in 2006 they released their largest model, the 26’ Cape Fisherman.

JBM hulls, to the uninitiated, appear to be pretty spartan. But open a hatch, look inside a compartment, or take a ride and fish on one of their boats, and you’ll find them to be remarkably well-designed and well-built, with an eye for detail. Here are some examples: bilges are gel-coated, which makes them easier to clean; hatches slam solidly shut; wiring is neatly bundled and labeled; and the deck hardware is all heavy duty. Everything tucks away very cleanly and/or falls easily under hand when needed, and there are tons of options a buyer can add to the base hull.

The JBM factory employs about 35 people (only 4 administrative staff, including Donnie!), and produces about 300 boats a year. They’ve chosen to remain small, and focus on doing what they do best.

In 2002 they moved into a 50,000 square-foot factory, which was built from the ground up to be a state-of-the-art "green" (eco-friendly) facility. Their plant uses advanced climate control systems that allow them to keep almost laboratory-like control over internal temperature and humidity.

This, in turn, allows them to make hulls that are consistently of a high quality, regardless of the outside weather conditions. All this while consuming less energy for heating and cooling that the average home.

Their air filtration system is also an amazing piece of engineering. It is so efficient that JBM lamination workers do not have to wear ventilators! Not only is this better for the environment, it also protects the people who build the boats.

Concern over the environment even extends to the materials used in their hulls. JBM uses only low-emissions resin systems, and the foam used for hull floatation does not produce either toxic fumes or ozone-depleting chemicals. JBM also recognized that less waste means less chance for pollution, so patterns for lay-up materials are carefully controlled to minimize trim waste. Less trim waste means less stuff going into landfills, and also reduces cost.

Why did they do it? That question evoked a chuckle from Donnie, who said: "Basically, it’s because I have two tree-huggers for daughters…No, actually, they gave me a bunch of prodding to do it, but when you stop and think about it, it just makes sense. We, and I mean everyone in the factory, all live and fish the waters around here. Our factory is on the shore of the Sound. Why in the world would we take a chance on hurting something we love so much, or hurting ourselves for that matter?"

In the end, it also makes economic sense. Improved worker safety, reduced power consumption, and elimination of environmental impacts all contribute to JBM’s viability in tough economic times.

JBM’s designs are constantly evolving. Changes come from many places, chief among them the many guides and serious fishermen who use their boats. Sometimes they are major ideas, such as the bateau skeg, but often they are subtle things which, over the course of time, accumulate and coalesce into a remarkably well-thought out whole.

JBM also applied some original thinking to the sales and service side of the business. One of the things that sets them apart from the rest of the industry is that JBM only sells completely factory-rigged boats, and the majority of boats are built to order. "Completely factory-rigged" means everything other than possibly some small electronics. If you want options, they are installed at the factory.

Why did they take this approach? "As soon as we started doing this, the number of warranty claims dropped to almost zero," claimed Donnie. "If we do all the rigging, we have complete control over everything, including quality assurance. And we’re pretty picky".

And despite the high level of personalization, costs are kept under control because dealers are not forced to buy and maintain inventory, or expensive showrooms. Boats come "as is" from the factory, much like an automobile. The dealer’s primary role at delivery is to detail the boat and address any transport damage.

JBM will ship their boats to customers out-of-state, and because the boats are so carefully rigged and packed at the factory, problems that arise in transport are minor and can be handled remotely. Capt Scott Leon, who owns the boat we examined for this profile, can attest to how well that works, When he needed a replacement actuator unit for his Lenco trim tabs, everything was handled quickly via UPS overnight shipments.

JBM considers Parker Boats their main competitor, and their products are priced similarly. They use Yamaha engines exclusively, and have been very happy with them.

OK…enough of the background, let’s take a quick look at a JBM Cape Fisherman 26 LTE (Light Tackle Edition)…

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