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Formula Jr
12-29-2001, 01:52 PM
I know that very, very soon. The Harbormaster will setup an account to hang everything off of the All Donzi List. (http://www.epud.net/~owen/listhtml/donzilist4.html) In preperation, Some of you have sent some really good stuff to be added. For example. Eric sent out total specs on the Genth Z boat line with addendiums:


"The Donzi Z series - 1986-1989

Basic Facts: The first Z series was the brain-child of Dick Geneth after he acquired Donzi in 1985. It was his attept to bring Donzi from the "Niche" player that it had been into the forefront of the performance boating community. Introduced as part of the 1986 model lineup, Donzi designed the Z33 as the flagship, with the Z29 and the Z25 rounding out the fleet. The Z21 was added in 1986 as a 1987 model. All boats switched to OMC Power for the 1989 model year.

Designers:
Chris Collier - According to sources on Donzi.net
Dick Genth - According to Boating Magazine Article - 1986
Don Westerman - Quoted as "Engineering" the Z series in Muscle Boats - Henry Rasmussen 1988
Dave Riley - Quoted as "Styling" the Z series in Muscle Boats - Henry Rasmussen 1988


Z33
(aka 33 Crossbow)
LOA: 32'4"
Beam: 9'0"
Deadrise: 22 degrees
Draft to Keel: 18"
Draft Outdrives: 35"
Approximate Weight: 8,100 lbs.
Fuel Capacity: 200 Gallons
Fresh Water Cap: 6.5 Gallons
Standard Power: Twin 330HP Mercs/TRS Drives
Optional Power: Twin Big Block/Kaama Surface Drives
New List Price:
Comments: Early hulls had 1 glass center hatch in forward deck. Some hulls then had 2 glass hatches placed on either side of the center stripe. Later hulls had the destictive "Gullwing" molded hatches on either side of the deck. This hull may have been continued into the early 90's (as late as the 92 model year).

Z29
(aka 29 Firefox)
LOA: 28'4"
Beam: 8'6"
Deadrise: 22 degrees
Draft to Keel: 22"
Draft Outdrives: 34"
Approximate Weight: 6,600 lbs.
Fule Capacity: 140 Gallons
Fresh Water Cap: 6.5 Gallons
Standard Power: Twin Merc 350 Magnum/Alpha 1 - 270 HP
Optional Power: Twins up to 330 HP
New List Price:
Comments:

Z25
(aka 25 Firefox)
LOA: 24'7"
Beam: 8'6"
Deadrise: 22 degrees
Draft to Keel: 18"
Draft Outdrives: 34"
Approximate Weight: 4,200 lbs.
Fule Capacity: 66 Gallons
Standard Power: Merc 330 HP
Optional Power:
New List Price:
Comments:

Z21
LOA: 22.5'
Beam: 8'5"
Draft to Keel: 20"
Deadrise: 22.5 degrees
Approximate Weight: 3,200 lbs
Fuel Capacity: 61 Gallons
Standard Power: Mercruiser Magnum 350/Alpha 1 - 270 HP
Optional Power: Single Engine to 330HP/TRS
New List Price:
Comments:
Early boats with Through-Hull exhaust exited over the the Swim Step, was changed to unique Side-Exit by the factory. Most boats have port-holes, although I have seen some without. Other than 2 small compartments under the rear seat, and a small compartment behind in the back of the front Bolsters, the cockpit has NO storage, which was the biggest complaint in all of the reviews of the day.
Continued as Z22 with OMC Power in 1989

ZB21 -
Open Bow
Specs same as Z21"

This is exactly the way I want to fillout the linked HTML pages, but I need help gathering the info. cause, I don't have easy access to a good library and lost alot of stuff in a Virus attack. I was so close too. You can see that the new format of the list arranges boats in series when first introduced. With that in mind, I need someone to pick a series and find the specs for the boats in that series - ie the Regazza line, the Blackwidow series, the Deck Boats, the LX C/R series, or writeups on various non series boats like the 16. And easy project would be the new Z boats as pamphets are readyly available at your local Donzi Dealer. Any and all annotation on models is also encouraged. Dont worry about spelling or grammer. I'll make ya look good.




mailto:owen@epud.netowen@epud.net</a>

New Donzi.net link test (http://www.donzi.net/dlist/index.htm)

Way Cool!!!! Thanks Harbormaster!!! Let me finalize an index before linking to the models button. It will be called index.htm

harbormaster
12-29-2001, 07:35 PM
OOOOPs,
I can take a hint.
I Forgot...

olredalert
12-29-2001, 08:46 PM
FormulaJR,

-----Just a small point but the early El Pescadors such as mine were made for a period longer than just 76 as mine is a 75.I wont say how much longer or how many,as I dont have definitive info.Have heard that there were only 12 made,but that is unsubstantiated.During the process of restoration it has become apparant how difficult DONZI made the assembly of these boats,with their double deck system(for want of a better term).Id be willing to bet that the workers cringed when an order for one came in!........just......ol red!

olredalert
12-29-2001, 08:54 PM
Just another thought that occured to me.The Doral,Spitfire and Spirit might also have started production earlier than 76 as well,as they used the same hull and outer deck-liner as the El Pescador.Hope this helps........ol red!

Formula Jr
12-29-2001, 11:38 PM
Ol'Redalert, Thanks for the info. I have'nt quit figured out how to treat the dates as there is a Model Year (76) and the year any particular boat was first made. That might make the Hull a (75) hull Though its a 76 model........confusing isn't it?????

DaveC
12-30-2001, 03:22 PM
From the 1986 Donzi Portfolio for the Z25:
Engine Options:
260HP Mercruiser
300HP Mercruiser
330HP Mercruiser
370HP Mercruiser
From the 1987 Donzi Portfolio for the Z25:
350 Mercruiser Magnum
454 Mercruiser Magnum
320 Mercruiser F.I.
370 Mercruiser TRS
420 Mercruiser TRS
For 1988 the catalog only states that the standard engine is 330 HP
There are significant differences in details among the 1986 through 1989 Z boats, with significant differences between early 86 and late 86 models.

DaveC
12-30-2001, 03:24 PM
From the 1986 Donzi Portfolio for the Z25:
Engine Options:
260HP Mercruiser
300HP Mercruiser
330HP Mercruiser
370HP Mercruiser
From the 1987 Donzi Portfolio for the Z25:
350 Mercruiser Magnum
454 Mercruiser Magnum
320 Mercruiser F.I.
370 Mercruiser TRS
420 Mercruiser TRS
For 1988 the catalog only states that the standard engine is 330 HP
There are significant differences in details among the 1986 through 1989 Z boats, with significant differences between early 86 and late 86 models.

EricG
12-31-2001, 09:59 AM
Great info DaveC.....I'm curious as to some of the differences in details your talking about? Like I mentioned, I've noticed the differences in hatch configurations on 33's, and some differences on the Z21's - but I'd love to hear some of the other things that they changed over the life of these boats. I got all of the specs I listed off of the '88 sales brochure, and other than power and cosmetics, I assume the actuall hull specs didn't change much over the life? These boats are hard to find info on because almost every article written about them was focused on the '33, with just a casual mention of the other boats in the series. I'd love to hear more about the specifics. Thanks for the info!

EG

Donzigo
12-31-2001, 10:43 AM
:rolleyes: Well, as an owner of a 1987 Z-25 and newly acquired 1989 Z-33, I am very interested in the Z-line info, and offering what I have as well. I can tell you that the sticker price for the Donzi Z-25 w/ 330 HP Merc 454 and Alpha One drive was $58,718. Donzi offered the 454/Alpha package for only a brief period in 1987 to try to keep the price down. The Alpha with 1:30/1 gear ratio proved to be too much for the 454 and they changed the ratio to 1:50/1 as the engines came back for warranty problems, like mine did. Thne, they changed to Bravo One, the next year. Some changes made from the 1986 to 1987 models was a different design of the seats, (the first ones were like car bucket seats with high backs which stuck up above the boat profile from a side view.)I beleive that the original price of the Z-33's for that year was approx: $125,000. Perhaps others would varify this. The information offered so far has been great for me. Many things I was unaware of. I'd love to get a copy of the articles noted in the designer section. I do have the 1989 and 1990 brochures for the complete DONZI line, if it helps.

DaveC
12-31-2001, 01:51 PM
The hulls and hull specs were all identical for the entire line as has been stated. But there were major changes in the evolution of the interiors and appointments. I owned a 86 Z25 (E686) that I purchased in 9/86. I had been looking at the Z boats since the previous year. You may remember the ad with Dick Genth's daughter posed in front of a red Z 29 "Catch a Dream". I was hooked! The 86 through early 87 Z boats had a plexiglass windscreen which was later changed to a Besenzoni SS windscreen (a very very expensive piece of furniture). The early 86 Z25 had a "rollerdesk" type companionway hatch which was changed in mid-late 86 to a two piece hatch with SS lid and bifold door. The cuddy upholstery was changed as well. The 86s all had a chevron sunpad that was color coordinated with the cockpit upholstery. The early 86 Z25 had a two piece sunpad, the later 86s had a one piece sunpad. The early Z29 (as shown in the 86 portfolio) actually had an enclosed head. This was later changed to facing seats and a port-potti under the v-berth. There were major changes to the cockpit upholstery for all Z models from 86 to 87. The 86 cockpits were color coordinated and as Donzigo has said, the Z25 had large backed "chairs" rather than buckets. The early 86 models all had lighted rocker switches that were changed on the 87 to toggles. I had the toggles retrofitted on my 86 by Donzi since they rockers were not too reliable. The upholstery on the 87s was done in shades of gray and bolsters replaced the chairs on the 25. In 88 coordinating colors were re-introduced into the cockpit, but not as elaborate as previously seen on the 86. Donzigo notes the problems with the alpha drive and the 454s and this was a major reason I sold the Z25 (mistake) because it was a very poor matchup and I was told at the time that I could not fit a bravo drive onto that particular big block. Another tidbit is that the original 86s came with cleaver props. The cleaver props were still shown in 87 but not mentioned in the 88 or 89 portfolios.I recently acquired an 88 from a fellow boarder and the 454 is mated with a bravo drive. I think that the boat handles better, comes out of the hole faster, and handles better with the bravo drive and the SS mirage than with the alpha drive and the cleaver. The 86 hull bottoms were the same color as the deck which gave the boats a "flying while sitting" look due to the reverse transom and the hull sides colors. The 86s were available with red, blue, and grey hullsides. Interiors were blue/grey and red/grey. The original hull accent stripes were grey/white or red/white. In 87 they went to black/white. In 89 the hull bottoms went back to the deck color (light grey). In 87 yellow and maroon hullsides were introduced, grey was dropped. In 88 teal was introduced as a hullside option, maroon was dropped. I have some nice photos of my 86 and I'll try to find a way to post them if anyone is interested. By the way, I don't know if Donzi still does this, but they sent me a chromed name plate for the dash which I kept when I sold the boat. IMHO it's a real shame that "original" Z boats weren't continued. I think that the design is as "classic" as the "Classic Series", but times and tastes change.

Formula Jr
12-31-2001, 03:27 PM
Well, if anyone wants to flesh out the info on the Z-line with such fine detail as the available cockpit colors, and what props came standard in 1986, be my guest. :D All good stuff, but that may be too much info to deal with across all the boats unless someone else wants to put that all together in one writing. I can piece together some content, but I can't piece together the whole shebang. My role here is the gathering of well defined segments that will become a part of the greater whole. Anything you want to know about Donzi is already in the massive text message base - I'm amazed everytime I look thru the whole BBS at the level of knowledge presented in there. This project is a culling and organized approach to bring that all in one place. For that, its a group effort. I can take these well defined sets of info and put them in a format that is cogent, but I don't have the time to write them myself as that individual task is too large.


What I need now, are specifications in the order that Eric provided for the other lines of Donzis.

And I need people willing to take on writeups on various models in the same formal writing method.

Still playing with content formalization.
Definitly will have specs, Original Price, Designer, Years Made, Approx production numbers, Related Old Ads, Interior Pics. And commentary. These are the fields I think are important - any other field suggestions? If I can formalize the content then the page generation will be a breeze. Also, some of the materials I have are massive print quality files. So I'm thinking of three levels of Pic presentation, Thumbnail, Viewing (92 PPI) and Print (but not PDF-I can't convert to that format). Scot sugggested dynamic linking to the Registry, but thats way over my head right now. Also, if information is based on a Magazine Article, you can either paraphase it, rewrite it or use it word for word, but If its word for word I'll need complete info on the source, Mag, Date, Author to give credit and stay within the Educational Use guidelines.

Whats on the table right now is the definition of a record we can all agree on. From there, I can set specifications of the Infomation base and then its all up to you to fill out the pieces that will get put together.

This started out as a "16 oz Rib in the Mouth" kind of project. It can't be done without alot of you also chewing on it.

This is going to be great stuff. Remember this is the WEB and we are going to create the definitive repository of Donzi info. for all the world to see. if we can't set up a lotto to give Scot what he truely deserves for all his effort, there is another route, and that route is to make Donzi.net so important that it can not be ignored by them's that be. And everything you give to this, as a site is an asset, and will have to make them think deeply about maybe parking a new 26ZX in his driveway. From the history of Donzi this would not be out of place. Don gave entire boats away to those that treated him well. Scot has treated Donzi well. Give him a freaken boat....... he is due.

;)

harbormaster
12-31-2001, 07:51 PM
If anyone has 80's and 90's brochures, can you scan them and send them in?

I would love to have a link to them for each respective model

olredalert
01-05-2002, 12:43 PM
Formula Jr.,

-----Just went down to Cleveland to take a look at the only other El Pescador on the site and,while there asked him when his was manufactured.Its titled as a 1974.I have been pretty sure that they were manufactured earlier than even 1975.
-----Owner also said that the original owner was a dealer on Catawba Island and this dealer said they built 24 El Pescadors,total!I know its not documented evidence but at the moment its the best Ive come up with.......just.....ol red!

Formula Jr
01-06-2002, 04:03 PM
OlRedAlert, Thank You. That is precisely the info I need to fill out the list. There really is no offical source for any of this data, as Donzi didn't keep records of it and the list should not be viewed as any kind of definitive record - its more like a moving target that will need constant adjustment till it is somewhat close to being true. I'll be doing the updates in descreet phases, so if I haven't added or changed something, its just because I'm adding all the changes up to do in one shot. Everyone on this board has some tib-bit of info like this, and thats exactly what I want to pull all together and put in one place. I'm at a loss though as to what Fishing boats were available during the Genth era. OMC really had an explosion of new Fishing models but I can't trace anything back to Genth. Prior to OMC there was the F-14, St Tropaz, El Prescador. How the F-24, F-21, F-18 fit in here I'm still searching.

harbormaster
01-08-2002, 10:13 AM
Owen,
The list looks great. What do you think about thumbnails of the boat pictures, next the model name? I will take care of it if you would like...

Formula Jr
01-15-2002, 03:34 AM
Scot, thanks for the offer, but you are looking at this from a T1 perspective. I'm looking at it from a 26KBPS perspective - so lots of links- pics at the end of those links, and sub 15 second page load times. Recently, us in the boonies are getting whacked with multi-256k downloads. 26KBPS is still the standard, and will be for awhile. I'm designing for that. The "last mile" copper wire thingy is still very real and un-solved. But we can be smart enought to work around it. The rules of the net, as far as I can understand them go such: General index - Less than 5 seconds, inner-mediate info -less than 15 seconds, and specific info, a minute or so. I've hit alot of home pages that sit there and say 15 minutes till you can see it. That just tells me they didn't know what they were working with.

kendoral
06-18-2006, 11:11 PM
Just another thought that occured to me.The Doral,Spitfire and Spirit might also have started production earlier than 76 as well,as they used the same hull and outer deck-liner as the El Pescador.Hope this helps........ol red!


I don't know when they started making the Doral 24.
but mine is a 73, and is built really well, came with,
twin 350's
K

DonziDave
06-19-2006, 10:31 PM
I have the complete 1986 and 1988 Portfolios, but no way to scan them. Lots of nice pictures of Kathy Genth...!!! Oh yeah...boat pictures and specs also.
Also have a DonziDuds. If you have any interest, PM me and we will figure out to to get them to you as long as they are returned.
Dave

open72
10-02-2011, 06:52 AM
Did the Z25 come with the option 330/TRS ? Anyone have a transom shot ?

BUIZILLA
10-02-2011, 07:22 AM
yes.

Budmann on the board here has one