boldts
06-01-2003, 11:21 PM
As we drove down to KY on Thursday through various rain showers, I was very optimistic about the weather for this years annual gathering. Let me just tell anyone who always listens to the weather channel. DON'T! :D
Yes, we got hit with some rain on Thursday evening, but on Friday morning as I opened the curtain in our room, the sun was in the air and there was the sound of Donzi owners warming up their horses.
We gathered in the yacht club for a wonderful class on propeller technology. The information presented by Steve McLelland and Scott Morgan from Turbo Propellers was very interesting. Scott explained the how props are designed and built along with all the differences in different prop designs. Did you all know that a Clever prop does not have to be used in a ventilated condition? I had always thought that those props were for high X dimensions and designed to run partly out of the water. We also learned that many of the older prop designs of the 60's and 70's are being pulled back off the shelves. Many of the newer boat designs are working with the older prop designs. We were offered special AOTH prices on both Turbo's 3 and 4 blade props along with an opportunity to try any of their props we wished to try on our boats. Scott Morgan even brought a few experimental Turbo props for the opportunity to get our opinion of the props and how they worked on our boats.
We next jumped into our boats and made a 37 mile ride to our lunch spot at the Lees Ford Resort. Doug Ash and his staff were awaiting our arrival and offered us an area of the restaurant with a great over-looking view of the marina. After lunch, we were invited to board and view a simply fantastic Sumerset Custom Houseboat. These homes on the water are all custom built for their owners and the quality is second to none. I counted 4 bed rooms with the master also having it's own bathroom with whirlpool bath. Nancy Rimas from Sumerset was on board and answered all our questions. Thoughts for next year's AOTH IV may include a dinner cruise aboard one of these beautiful boats.
On the return trip back to the Jamestown Resort, many used the opportunity to ride in a model of Donzi they had not experienced yet. By this point, the Horses were wide awake and running wild. Later Friday evening, we gathered in the yacht club again with snacks and refreshments. Thanks go out to Jerry Eisele who supplied nachos and dip for everyone to enjoy. I was especially proud and honored to meet Jeff Dykema, his father Dale and girl friend Sarah today. Jeff has an 18' Classic named "Hard Candy" that has been modified to allow him to enjoy driving his Donzi. Jeff is paralyzed, but doesn't let this stop him from getting out and running his Donzi the way the boats were designed to be run. Jeff hails from Holland MI and is a true inspiration to all who met him this weekend.
Saturday morning we awoke to find that a few others had joined us through the night and early morning hours. We now had a 28' Maltese Magnum in our presence owned by a Mr. Bob Dean from IL. Anyone who took the opportunity to check this piece of history in boat design out, found a beautiful Aronow design with a very knowledgeable owner. I will remember this boat for the rest of my life as I was later invited to take a ride on the boat and given the opportunity to drive it. The winds were rather high on Saturday making the lake a fun challenge to drive. Has Bob gave me the wheel and we turned her into the wind, he told me to put the throttles down. I felt as though I was in the 60's running an offshore race from Miami to Key West. I became Don Aronow if for only a few minutes. I will never forget this moment in time. Another Donzi that arrived over night was a simply perfect 1986 20' Minx owned by Mr. Don Carone. In the Z and ZX series, we now had a 22, 28 ZXO, 29, 30 Black Widow, and a fabulous 33ZX in attendance. Reindl Powerboats allowed Byron Scholle to bring a 28' One Design Bat Boat so called this because of the side wing design of the boat. For those of you who got to ride or drive this boat, it was a fabulous opportunity. Anyone with the opportunity to drive one of these boats in the 24' size at a APBA race should do it. When I rode in the boat, again a first for me, I loved it.
We started the morning with an opportunity to test Turbo props on our boats. All we had to do was bring the boat to the launch ramp, turn it around, and Scott Morgan did all the work. He pulled our prop off and installed the Turbo prop we wanted to try. I was shown the difference between their new Lightning prop and the regular Turbo prop. After trying a couple of the different props, I found that the Turbo 22" that I am currently running was the best prop for my application. Of course, when I add more HP to the boat in the future, the prop testing starts all over again. If anyone has not talked to me about the gains I experienced by switching from a Mirage to the Turbo brand. I gained 3 MPH and my 22 Classic went from an uncomfortable boat to drive, to a tame, well handling in any type of water, that I can actually use the trim button in the throttle handle boat. With the Mirage, my Classic ran 65.6. With the Turbo, the boat ran 68.7 and since adding a Hydromotive nose cone, the boat now runs 69.8 with a 22" Turbo.
After lunch, we all headed for one of the must visit sights on the lake called 76 Falls. This is a nice 15 to 20 minute ride and a popular hang out for all the performance boats on the lake. You'll also find a Marti Graw atmosphere here with many houseboats full of vacationing party goers. One of the folks rafting off with us had their dog along. This dog would swim after just about anything thrown in the water including swimmers. Something that I have done every year that I have visited this water fall, is to drive the Donzi behind the falls. There is just enough space to drive your boat behind the water fall and the actual stone wall of the falls. I've made it a tradition every time we visit 76 Falls at AOTH. Storm clouds rolled in and everyone decided to pull up the anchors and head back to Jamestown. Because of the high winds, the lake was ruff and I thought a real joy to drive the Donzi design on. Felt a few drops, but still no rain to ruin any part of the day. After dropping Beth and Allison off at the resort, I decided to put the boat on the trailer and get ready for dinner. This is when Mr. Dean offered the ride in his Magnum. Allison and I shut the Donzi off and jumped at the opportunity. We passed Beth waiting at the launch ramp for us, and decided we should also pick her up so she could enjoy the ride. You know the rest of this story already. When we got back, I told Beth I would put the Donzi on the trailer. Actually, after the Magnum ride, I wanted to take my Donzi out and run her the way she was designed to be run. I needed to burn some fuel anyway for the trip home. That was the most fun I've had in the boat since the day we brought her home to Columbus, OH. There is nothing like the feeling of a Donzi just dancing from wave top to wave top. I ran her wide open and fully trimmed for about 4 or 5 times around the area outside the resort. It was so much fun to feel how she handled the different wave configurations from the hard winds.
I put the Donzi away and made her ready to go home the following morning. What a wonderful weekend and gathering AOTH III has been so far with more to come. We ate dinner which was no hassle for anyone as Jerry Eisele had collected the money for the meal and made all the preparations with the Jamestown staff. The winds had dyed and it was a nice atmosphere to get everyone out of the stuffy indoor dinning room area, so we all went out onto the covered deck sitting right on the water. I thanked those that helped me put AOTH III together this year. We also held an auction of donated items by the attendees. The money collected from this auction helps with the expenditures obtained in doing this gathering every year. I have also made it a tradition to share these monies with the Donzi Registry Harbormaster. Scot VanAlstine has never asked for a cent from me, but with-out this website, I would have never met the now many Donzi friends I have. Scot has always let me advertise our club shirts and our gathering dates here on the Registry. After 3 years now, I have most of your first names down. I'm terrible with names. This year Beth and I brought our 6 year old daughter to her first Donzi gathering. You all welcomed her and even though she sometimes bugged the heck out of you, smiled and answered all her questions. She absolutely loves our Donzi! You don't know how many times one of you would pull up next to us as we went down the lake and she would be telling me to go faster. She always wants to be the line leader. Look out in the future for this Donzi girl. When she pries the Donzi keys out of my hands, she'll be gunning for you guys. :)
Thank-you to all of you who attended. I hope everyone got home with no issues. You all make this gathering the wonderful outing that it is. With-out your participation and support, "Awakening of the Horses" would not exist. As I watched Tom and Kathy Smith leave with their 33ZX Saturday afternoon, I realized how much of an effort all of you put into attending this gathering. Boy is that boat big sitting on the trailer and I'm sure it's no piece of cake to tow either.
You all are the best!
Yes, we got hit with some rain on Thursday evening, but on Friday morning as I opened the curtain in our room, the sun was in the air and there was the sound of Donzi owners warming up their horses.
We gathered in the yacht club for a wonderful class on propeller technology. The information presented by Steve McLelland and Scott Morgan from Turbo Propellers was very interesting. Scott explained the how props are designed and built along with all the differences in different prop designs. Did you all know that a Clever prop does not have to be used in a ventilated condition? I had always thought that those props were for high X dimensions and designed to run partly out of the water. We also learned that many of the older prop designs of the 60's and 70's are being pulled back off the shelves. Many of the newer boat designs are working with the older prop designs. We were offered special AOTH prices on both Turbo's 3 and 4 blade props along with an opportunity to try any of their props we wished to try on our boats. Scott Morgan even brought a few experimental Turbo props for the opportunity to get our opinion of the props and how they worked on our boats.
We next jumped into our boats and made a 37 mile ride to our lunch spot at the Lees Ford Resort. Doug Ash and his staff were awaiting our arrival and offered us an area of the restaurant with a great over-looking view of the marina. After lunch, we were invited to board and view a simply fantastic Sumerset Custom Houseboat. These homes on the water are all custom built for their owners and the quality is second to none. I counted 4 bed rooms with the master also having it's own bathroom with whirlpool bath. Nancy Rimas from Sumerset was on board and answered all our questions. Thoughts for next year's AOTH IV may include a dinner cruise aboard one of these beautiful boats.
On the return trip back to the Jamestown Resort, many used the opportunity to ride in a model of Donzi they had not experienced yet. By this point, the Horses were wide awake and running wild. Later Friday evening, we gathered in the yacht club again with snacks and refreshments. Thanks go out to Jerry Eisele who supplied nachos and dip for everyone to enjoy. I was especially proud and honored to meet Jeff Dykema, his father Dale and girl friend Sarah today. Jeff has an 18' Classic named "Hard Candy" that has been modified to allow him to enjoy driving his Donzi. Jeff is paralyzed, but doesn't let this stop him from getting out and running his Donzi the way the boats were designed to be run. Jeff hails from Holland MI and is a true inspiration to all who met him this weekend.
Saturday morning we awoke to find that a few others had joined us through the night and early morning hours. We now had a 28' Maltese Magnum in our presence owned by a Mr. Bob Dean from IL. Anyone who took the opportunity to check this piece of history in boat design out, found a beautiful Aronow design with a very knowledgeable owner. I will remember this boat for the rest of my life as I was later invited to take a ride on the boat and given the opportunity to drive it. The winds were rather high on Saturday making the lake a fun challenge to drive. Has Bob gave me the wheel and we turned her into the wind, he told me to put the throttles down. I felt as though I was in the 60's running an offshore race from Miami to Key West. I became Don Aronow if for only a few minutes. I will never forget this moment in time. Another Donzi that arrived over night was a simply perfect 1986 20' Minx owned by Mr. Don Carone. In the Z and ZX series, we now had a 22, 28 ZXO, 29, 30 Black Widow, and a fabulous 33ZX in attendance. Reindl Powerboats allowed Byron Scholle to bring a 28' One Design Bat Boat so called this because of the side wing design of the boat. For those of you who got to ride or drive this boat, it was a fabulous opportunity. Anyone with the opportunity to drive one of these boats in the 24' size at a APBA race should do it. When I rode in the boat, again a first for me, I loved it.
We started the morning with an opportunity to test Turbo props on our boats. All we had to do was bring the boat to the launch ramp, turn it around, and Scott Morgan did all the work. He pulled our prop off and installed the Turbo prop we wanted to try. I was shown the difference between their new Lightning prop and the regular Turbo prop. After trying a couple of the different props, I found that the Turbo 22" that I am currently running was the best prop for my application. Of course, when I add more HP to the boat in the future, the prop testing starts all over again. If anyone has not talked to me about the gains I experienced by switching from a Mirage to the Turbo brand. I gained 3 MPH and my 22 Classic went from an uncomfortable boat to drive, to a tame, well handling in any type of water, that I can actually use the trim button in the throttle handle boat. With the Mirage, my Classic ran 65.6. With the Turbo, the boat ran 68.7 and since adding a Hydromotive nose cone, the boat now runs 69.8 with a 22" Turbo.
After lunch, we all headed for one of the must visit sights on the lake called 76 Falls. This is a nice 15 to 20 minute ride and a popular hang out for all the performance boats on the lake. You'll also find a Marti Graw atmosphere here with many houseboats full of vacationing party goers. One of the folks rafting off with us had their dog along. This dog would swim after just about anything thrown in the water including swimmers. Something that I have done every year that I have visited this water fall, is to drive the Donzi behind the falls. There is just enough space to drive your boat behind the water fall and the actual stone wall of the falls. I've made it a tradition every time we visit 76 Falls at AOTH. Storm clouds rolled in and everyone decided to pull up the anchors and head back to Jamestown. Because of the high winds, the lake was ruff and I thought a real joy to drive the Donzi design on. Felt a few drops, but still no rain to ruin any part of the day. After dropping Beth and Allison off at the resort, I decided to put the boat on the trailer and get ready for dinner. This is when Mr. Dean offered the ride in his Magnum. Allison and I shut the Donzi off and jumped at the opportunity. We passed Beth waiting at the launch ramp for us, and decided we should also pick her up so she could enjoy the ride. You know the rest of this story already. When we got back, I told Beth I would put the Donzi on the trailer. Actually, after the Magnum ride, I wanted to take my Donzi out and run her the way she was designed to be run. I needed to burn some fuel anyway for the trip home. That was the most fun I've had in the boat since the day we brought her home to Columbus, OH. There is nothing like the feeling of a Donzi just dancing from wave top to wave top. I ran her wide open and fully trimmed for about 4 or 5 times around the area outside the resort. It was so much fun to feel how she handled the different wave configurations from the hard winds.
I put the Donzi away and made her ready to go home the following morning. What a wonderful weekend and gathering AOTH III has been so far with more to come. We ate dinner which was no hassle for anyone as Jerry Eisele had collected the money for the meal and made all the preparations with the Jamestown staff. The winds had dyed and it was a nice atmosphere to get everyone out of the stuffy indoor dinning room area, so we all went out onto the covered deck sitting right on the water. I thanked those that helped me put AOTH III together this year. We also held an auction of donated items by the attendees. The money collected from this auction helps with the expenditures obtained in doing this gathering every year. I have also made it a tradition to share these monies with the Donzi Registry Harbormaster. Scot VanAlstine has never asked for a cent from me, but with-out this website, I would have never met the now many Donzi friends I have. Scot has always let me advertise our club shirts and our gathering dates here on the Registry. After 3 years now, I have most of your first names down. I'm terrible with names. This year Beth and I brought our 6 year old daughter to her first Donzi gathering. You all welcomed her and even though she sometimes bugged the heck out of you, smiled and answered all her questions. She absolutely loves our Donzi! You don't know how many times one of you would pull up next to us as we went down the lake and she would be telling me to go faster. She always wants to be the line leader. Look out in the future for this Donzi girl. When she pries the Donzi keys out of my hands, she'll be gunning for you guys. :)
Thank-you to all of you who attended. I hope everyone got home with no issues. You all make this gathering the wonderful outing that it is. With-out your participation and support, "Awakening of the Horses" would not exist. As I watched Tom and Kathy Smith leave with their 33ZX Saturday afternoon, I realized how much of an effort all of you put into attending this gathering. Boy is that boat big sitting on the trailer and I'm sure it's no piece of cake to tow either.
You all are the best!