John Boylston
First President, Project Liberty Ship

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John Boylston, nationally known naval architect, is one of the founders of Project Liberty Ship. He is the person who had the idea in 1987 to try to enlist Marylanders and others to save, repair and steam the rusting S.S. JOHN W. BROWN. The ship was then in the National Defense Reserve Fleet in the James River near Fort Eustis, Virginia. Boylston asked New Yorker Mike Gillen if Marylanders could try to save the ship. Gillen was delighted to hear someone was interested. He was frustrated after he and others had worked valiantly but unsuccessfully for years to try to get a berth and enough volunteers for the BROWN in New York City or elsewhere.

Boylston and a friend, Captain Brian H. Hope, a Chesapeake Bay pilot, contacted other potential volunteers and they began meeting enthusiastically in Baltimore to make the idea work. The ship was towed by tug to Baltimore in August 1988. Boylston became president of Project Liberty Ship Inc. and Hope became chairman. After three years, the BROWN began steaming again in 1991. Boylston, his then-wife Stephanie and a daughter, Caroline, worked hard to help revive the ship in the early years. The couple separated and each left the BROWN, although John maintains his membership in Project Liberty Ship. He is happy the BROWN has enriched the lives of so many of its volunteers.

John Boylston has designed and overseen construction of his 99th and 100th ships. He created two large roll on/roll off ships for trailers and cars for the Totem Ocean Trailer Express firm. They were completed in 2003. Now a marine consultant, John moved to Dresden, Maine, so that his daughter Caroline, who has Down's syndrome, could develop her considerable talent as an artist at a nearby studio/gallery.