Sunday Fun Day: Jeff Johnston

Between a Pacific Ocean crossing to Catalina Island, a sunset cruise around Florida’s Siesta Key and a lunch run to Pirate’s Cove on the north end of Arizona’s Lake Havasu, I can think of plenty of fun ways to spend a Sunday on the water. But if I had to pick my ideal Sunday Fun Day it would have to be enjoying a day on Lake Mead with my family and close friends.

Nichole and Jeff Johnston met on a lake and spend most of their free time boating with friends and family.

We have a lot of friends who hang out at the Nevada lake, which is east of Las Vegas. The day would start by launching the boats around 9:30 or 10 a.m.—my family owns a 2000 Hallett Boats 270 with a single Mercury Racing 500EFI engine—then we’d go run around for a bit and head to the narrows.

We have some family friends with a Hallett that we usually meet up with, and it’s not uncommon to run into boaters like Nick Barron and Randy Davis, who own the companies Hallett Boats and Nordic Boats, respectively. Lake Mead is a definite West Coast hot spot. From the Narrows, we’d drive over to Long Beach and hang out for a couple of hours eating sandwiches and enjoying everyone’s company. Then it’s back through the Narrows—followed by a quick pit stop to check the propeller—then over to Little Sandy Basin to hang out a little more before taking the boat back to put it on the trailer.

The Johnston family spends between 10 to 12 weekends a year on Lake Mead in their 27-foot Hallett (center).

Most people wouldn’t describe the cleaning process as fun, but it’s part of the boating routine and I enjoy cleaning up the boat so it’s ready for the next time out. Once the boat is put away, the best way to wrap up a Sunday Fun Day is with a barbecue by the pool.

Of course I have to thanks to my parents—Kerry and Ginny—for raising my brother, Jeremy, and I around boats and instilling the value of family-oriented boating in us. In fact, you can ask my wife, Nichole, I can’t wait to truly introduce our five-month-old son, Dylan, to the joys of being on the lake.

Editor’s note: Southern California native Jeff Johnston has worked in the boat business since graduating from San Diego State University in 2002 and joining the sales team at Powerboat magazine that fall. He moved to Hering Propellers in 2008 where he worked as the director of sales and marketing for six years before joining the sales and marketing team at DCB Performance Boats in El Cajon, Calif.

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