Eaton Boat?

[James Adcock]

CDMA, What is an Eaton boat :confused: ? I'm curious.
Thanks, Jamie
(Please forgive me. I first posted this in the Donzi's for Sale. It's in reference to Dauley's boat).

[CDMA]

What poodle said.

Seen on early Donzi's mainly 16/18 with Small Fords. I also have seen them on house boats and 1000 island fire boats eek! eek!

It was used over the volvo early in production because Volvo would not let Donzi use thru transom exhaust w/o voiding the warranty. This was later changed and Donzi switched to the superior Volvo drive.

So an Eaton boat is a rare, very early piece with an almost unusable outdrive. Well usable till it breaks.

Chris

[turbo2256]

Eaton actually sold Volvo the rights to build drives. Some of the old gears and such interchange. Eaton later sold out to Volvo. There was a friend up here who still had parts for them. Bought up everybody parts and finaly bought out a fellow in Ohio that had a lot of parts. Sorry to say he passed away a few years back. There was stuff he had I would have liked to pick up. He did conversions were you could put Merc props on Volvos and still had quite a few M&W turbo kits lots of Eaton drives. There was even a 16' 67 Donzi he had just repowered with a 351W and Eaton drive. Alas a sign had fallen on it during a storm and the deck was quite cracked up.

[James Adcock]

MadPoodle, Chris, Thanks for the heads up. I will pay more attention when poking around places while looking for "unwanted" Donzi's :D . By the way Chris. I met the librarian that works there at Webb Institute. Patricia (Pat)Pennigton I believe. I asked her if she knew you. "Oh Yes", she said. She asked how I knew you. Told her I only know your name thru this thread collecting Donzi's and that you had talked about Webb. I checked out Webb's site. Cool. I like the ship sailing back and forth. Later Dude, Jamie :cool:

[Greg]

I know what you mean about the Eaton outdrive being obsolete and almost unusable. When I bought my boat it had an Eaton drive on it. The Volvo 200 parts worked. When this drive was invented power trim wasn't even a concept. Driving with it felt like I was dragging a bedspread around behind the boat. Strong drive though, I beat it like the proverbial unwanted stepchild and it held up well.

[BigGrizzly]

There are at least 2 eaton drive the early on on the donzi had a shift cable on the top of the drive the second on the late 1965 Donzi were eaton/christler/volvo drives the 200 has all volvo parts in itand they interchange

[Ralph Savarese]

My 18 was originally a Eaton when my father bought it new in 66. I know that drive very well had it apart more than enough times. only reason for change was lack of parts.I still have a shift spool for it hopeing to sell it one day!
Ralph

[CDMA]

Grizz brings up a good point ( wow how I have grown up). Eaton not only made a drive but later sold a rebadged Volvo drive. So "an Eaton boat" would refer to an original Eaton drive not a rebaged Volvo.

Chris

Missile powered...

[DAULEY]

so what my eaton boat worth
thanks bob

[Ralph Savarese]

16,18, Intercepter 3 hatch,
Shape, What is it?

[classic_18]

I am getting sloooowwwwerrrrr....

[DAULEY]

pixs in the donzi forsale section under 65? 16 forsale

[DOND]

I had the early eaton on my 1965 16.As long as I had the boat it held up well.I t did have the shift cable on the outside and once the connector fell off and ruined the boating for the weekend.I do remember the primitive method of positioning the outdrive for trailering,you had to use an aluminum pole with the end turned down to fit a bore in the side of the housing.You had to lean over the transom and insert it to the drive and rotate 180 degrees.The drive bit the dust when I was rear ended while trailering on the expressway at 55mph.
Technology has come along way since then.
Don

[Rodger]

I had an Eaton drive on my 66 16'. About 23 years ago, I was zooming across Lake Geneva, WI. doing about 50 MPH, when suddenly the drive fell off. The drive did a triple flip in the air with about 10' of shift cable still attached, and then dropped into 60' of water. The boat spun around, almost throwing my wife and I out, with the engine still turning over 5000 RPM. I shut the engine off, went to the stern to see a 8" hole with water to pouring in. I was sinking fast! I held a life jacket over the hole while a friend pulled me to shore, but by that time, the water was up to the gun wales. The Eaton drive is held in by a single .75" dia. pin which obviously broke.
Except for that instance, and constant breaking of shear-pins; the drive was fine!

[DOND]

Rodger, your mention of shear pins reminded me of my experience with that. My wife and I were out in Lake Michigan(about 25 years ago)and the shear pin went out near the mouth of monroe st. harbor close to the planetariam.I paddled the boat to the wall looking for someone to call it was late at night. After seeing the city of chicago rats
(the size of cats) coming to check us out we left the wall and finally hailed a fishing boat to call the police boat for a tow.
We waited over an hour for them to come, I finally got disgusted and started paddling back to Burnham Harbor.As I rounded the point at the planetariam there the police boat was flying towards us with the lights flashing.They towed us back to my dads boat.I was cursing that drive!
Don