How and or when did you catch the Donzi bug? [Archive]

AVickers

09-12-2002, 02:31 PM

Had successfully avoided owning a boat for more than a month or two my whole life. (No small feat: Grandfather was an avid boater on the Chesapeake. Dad had several, my brother had one, several cousins had 'em. I even had a flat-bottom Hallett crashbox, v-drive boat for a while in the early '70s...bought it for the supercharged 455 Olds motor and sold the boat off.)

One summer day in the early 80's, I was working on my Dad's Cruiser and heard a boat idling by. It sounded so good that I had to have a look. I crawled up from the bilge just in time to see a powder blue over white "speedboat" easing by heading out from the gasdock. It looked better than it sounded.

I had no idea what it was, I just knew it was beautiful and built for speed. A guy was in it with a big old sh*teatin' grin on his face, headed out to the lake, which was rolling w/ 2-3 footers. After he was around the breakwater, he hammered it. All I could do was look out into the distance at the rapidly dimishing boat.

Right then and there I said to myself, "Self. You gotta get you one of them boats..."

Unfortunately, from my place in Colorado, it took a year or two to figure out just what that boat was. It was a 22' Classic (or Criterion). And it took me ten years to move to a place where there was enough water to justify owning a boat. All the while, I never stopped wanting one of those Damned Donzis

As soon as I moved back to Texas in '93, I started looking around and bought an 18 Classic, thinking that would satisfy my desire to have one of these boats. NOT. Almost immediately, I started looking for a 22. The wife thought I was absolutely out of my mind; "You already have a boat!" was all she could say...

Anyway, I finally found a 22 that I could sell to her and now, I cruise around with a sh*teatin' grin on my face.

TRU-JACK

09-12-2002, 02:32 PM

1973, I was 4 years old. My grandfather took a 16 classic for a test ride, unfortunately for us, he took my grandmother and couldn't control himself and drove the boat hard and fast! :D Well Grandma wasn't hanging on tight enough and nearly flew out of the boat during a sharpe turn, and that was the end of the test ride. :(
Since that day, and any chance since then i was in awe by the look and sound of Donzi Classics. In fact, this story has become a family legend and right until the day before my Grandmother passed, any mention of the word Donzi, she would say something about 'Jack and his damn Donzi!' From that day on i knew i wanted a Donzi, and finally got one last year, a sweet sixteen named "TRU JACK" after my grandfather Jack the test pilot, and my other grandfather Truman who also witnessed the infamous test ride , and was the first to remind my grandmother of her experience. :D

Bigbroadjumper

09-12-2002, 02:41 PM

I grew up in Key Stone Point, North Miami in the '60s. One day my brother and I were out on Biscane Bay is his 14' Westwind Aerodyne and his 33hp Evenrude was pumpin out the speed, we must have been burning up the water at around 25 to 30MPH. Hard to tell because the GPS was not invented yet. When out of the blue a 16' ski sporter went screaming by. It sounded like an airplane and from that day forward I have been hooked. We use to ride our bikes over to 188th Street and watch them build the Donzi and Magnums. It was sure fun to be there at that time.
My dad has his boat at Challengers Marine and we were able to see many of the race boats of that era. Like the Boss-a-nova, the Bigbroadjumper and some of the others. I think Allan Brown was the manager then.

HP 600SC

09-12-2002, 02:52 PM

I was 16 years old, on my parents cruiser when
a yellow X-18 passed us in Tampa Bay.
I had some older outboards prior to that and noticed how well the Donzi was riding and taking the waves. I had to have one. I found a 73 yellow X-18 for sale in the boat trader, it was damaged on the port side from hitting a bridge. I bought it for $500.00, He was asking $700.00 but agreed to flip a coin and if I won I would get it for $500.00 (he was drunk) Well I won! After 6 Mos. of glass work and installing a new engine it was in the water. I have now owned 11 Donzi's since that time! Maybe I was born with Donzitis.
Ted M.

RedDog

09-12-2002, 03:19 PM

Late 60s (67 - 69) I use to visit my late Aunt on Wilson Lake in AL. Her landlord lived in a cabin next door and had a red 18 with a 289 Ford. I thought it was British or Italian. Anyway it took more than 30 years to get one, but from the first sight I always knew I would.

boldts

09-12-2002, 03:27 PM

Year: 1985
Place: Marina now out of business on Indian Lake in Bellefontaine, OH.

Saw my first ever Donzi at the winter boat show and couldn't get it out of my head all the way back to Columbus, OH. I had no idea what a Donzi was then or why it had Holman Moody Marine on it. All I knew was it was 18' long and was built in 1969. Had no extra money at the time, but plenty of offers from various places to borrow it if I wanted.

For the down payment, I took a loan from Sears Roebuck Inc. Gave that money to the marina who set up the loan for the remaining balance. This was in Jan. or Feb. and way to cold to test run the boat in Ohio.

Spring - March I believe, took a friend along with and headed up to test run the boat. By the afternoon, papers were signed and I was towing the boat home behind a 1967 Chevelle. That night when my father got home from work, I took him out to the garage where he found out why I had cleaned out the garage. I hadn't told my mom or dad that I was buying the boat. He took a look at the boat and said "That should run pretty good. Nice looking boat." My father had some experience in fast boats as he ran a Dorset in Family class in a race on the Ohio river once. My father and I spent a lot of time over the years together both working on the boat and enjoying it. My mom worked as a nurse and would meet me after work in the morning to go for rides. I worked 2 full time jobs to pay back the 2 loans I had taken out to buy her. If you ask "Was it worth it?" You bet your life it was. You just didn't see them around and that made the boat special like a old wooden Chris Craft to me. The attention the boat brought where-ever I took her was a real ego trip for me since I didn't have extra money or gold chains around my neck as it seemed many of the bigger go fast owners seemed to sport. I would take her to offshore races up on Lake Erie, sometimes in very ruff conditions to work as a patrol crowd control boat for APBA. Many of the racers commented on the boat and how I must be nuts running it in some of the conditions I put that boat through. She always flew the waves straight and always landed tail first.

I finally learned what a Donzi was all about some years later when while at a local lake a pretty girl came up to me at the beach and asked if I would take her and her friend for a ride. She was very nice, but quick to point out that her boyfriend also owned a boat like mine. I later met him and we became good friends. He had grown up in the Fort Lauderdale area and said he had gone to high school with Don Aronow's son Michael.

I owned that boat until just this past April when Beth and I purchased a 22' Classic. I've said it often, we love the 22, but I wish I could have kept the 18 also.

CDMA

09-12-2002, 03:29 PM

Yeah like Ted I was born with it...

I think my story is a little different then most. I grew up in a family that was into sailboat, trawlers and diesel cars. Now we are talking slow stuff here. But when I was in high school and I started my business for the first time in my life I had some disposable income. I knew I wanted a project but I had no idea what. I went looking for what I wanted with a completely blank slate. No preconceived ideas.

I looked at cars and boats and everything in between. I wanted something classy, functional, and a little different then what I grew up with. I roamed car shows, boat classifieds and then I saw a 19 hornet sitting in the back of a marina. I knew that boat wasn't what I wanted but I saw the lines and I fell in love. I looked at 16s, 18s, and Hornets and felt the 18 was the best fit for me. I just think the classics are the most beautiful objects ever made by man.

I found my boat on a trip to see my sick grandfather and traced the DMV registration numbers. I called the guy and he said " Where did you see it listed?" I played along but to this day I have no idea where it was listed because I had never seen it and I had looked everywhere.

I wound up having to outbid Paul O to get the boat but in the end I made a great friend and got my first project. It has changed my life. Who knows what # 2 and 3 will do.

Chris

Rodger

09-12-2002, 03:30 PM

In 1966, a guy across the lake from us bought a 16' Donzi with the Ford 260 cu. in., 2 barrel carb and an Eaton outdrive. I used to watch and hear him pass our pier thinking how cool and fast that boat was. Twelve years later when I was looking to buy my first personal boat I saw a 16' Donzi in the paper located at our lake in Wisconsin. When I went to see it, the boat looked very familiar. After asking questions, it turned out to be the same 16' I used to see when it was new in '66'. We struck a deal on the spot and I towed it home that night. I still have that boat and it's still on the same lake it started out on; only 36 years later.

mattyboy

09-12-2002, 03:54 PM

summer of 69,
little mattyboy sittin in the water of beautiful Greenwood lake in his favorite alligator tubey .
when a 18 yellow orange and white came tearing by,
been bitten every since the name of the boat

Jameseyboy

Mattyboy

Forrest

09-12-2002, 03:55 PM

In 1972, Portsmouth, Virginia, when my mom took me to look a new "family" ski-boat that she was thinking about buying. It was called a 16 Ski Sporter by Donzi, and it had the new V8 "888" 188hp sterndrive package by Mercruiser. My Dad wanted a boat to fish out of around the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, but it was too bad that he was at work when we went to look at it. Then after seeing that little Donzi, hearing it, riding in it, and then finally driving it, without hesitation I suggested to my mother (while trying to remain calm) that she go ahead purchase it . . . and she did. Well, as it turned out, the 16 Donzi it really wasn't much of a family ski-boat though we did use for skiing often, and Dad was not allowed to fish or catch crabs out of it. but it was plenty fast over the rough stuff and it commanded attention everywhere we took it, especically jumping smooth rollers as close to shore a possible on any nice summer day at the Virginia Beach oceanfront. You would probably go to jail for doing that now. Anyway, I have the same 16 Donzi and all the above still holds true today.

CDMA

09-12-2002, 04:00 PM

Yeah but she didn't do 70 then forrest... :D :D :D

Chris

Forrest

09-12-2002, 04:02 PM

Back then Chris, 56 seemed like 104.3!

knee deep

09-12-2002, 05:21 PM

Lake Rosseau, Muskoka Lakes, Northern Ontario at the Cleveland House Lodge. I was 4 years old and we were there on vacation. This chubby guy named Jack, who was from Florida had a 16 with an Eaton Drive. I spent the whole time on the dock bothering him. He'd run up and down the lake while I ran up and down the dock screaming and yelling. He finally realized he had a fan who would not give up, and he took me out in it. For some reason the number 63 sticks in my head. The boat was yellow with white interior. I think he was either a dealer or a damn good customer because he said he got a new one every year. The local marina sold them for awhile, the ones up there were built by Shepherd under licence from Donzi. Many old-timers still call them Shepherd-Donzis. Its the only boat that has always turned my head, and now, by some quirk of fate I own one. But thats another story......

Just remembered he had a drop dead gorgeous blonde wife, you can see where my priorities were!

McGary911

09-12-2002, 05:25 PM

Late '70's: I grew up in Pt Pleasant Beach, NJ, and every summer, the Benihanna Grand Prix came to town. All those raceboats and me a 10 year old kid. My dad was a cop in town and let me get a little closer to the boats than the others were allowed (and he hated boats). Around 1980 or so, a new boat dealership opened up in town, right on the Manasquan River. Guess what line of boats they featured. Yep, a Donzi dealership. I forget the name, but I never forgot those boats. Every week I look forward to putting a little more $$ in the Donzi fund. My 22 isn't nearly as far off as it was a year ago.

BTW: this website hasn't hurt my enthusiasm one bit :)

Marlin275

09-12-2002, 06:07 PM

It was 1964 and my future father-in law purchased the Formula 27 from Don and started the Marlin Boat Company. He added a flybridge and created a high performance sportfisherman. His company raced against Don in the 1965 Miami-Nassau and around Nassau races. I met Don after he won the around Nassau race in 007, I was 11 years old. The James Bond movie Thunderball was being filmed at the same time in Nassau and we toured the set seeing the movie props and the yacht Disco Valante that separates at the end of the movie to escape.

The Marlin275 was awesome jumping over the ocean waves 15ft above the water on the flyingbridge. The Donzi 16 & 18s showed up in our neighborhood soon after and suddenly Whalers weren’t cool anymore. Now I have a 1973 X-18 and that grand history to teach my kids. http://www.donzi.net/photos/C.Gabeler275.jpg

Greg Maier

09-12-2002, 06:10 PM

Back in 1979 my parents got a sailboat and kept it on the Chesapeake. I remember those long days sitting on a blow-boat going 2 1/2 mph all day. Every once in a while, these cool little boats called Donzi's would appear on the horizon, come screaming by, and then disappear. It seems like they always tried to buzz close by to taunt you. I had the distinctive Donzi Logo burned into my brain all these years. Last year I asked my brother, who is a Yacht Broker, what happened to all those cool little Donzi boats, why don't I see them anymore? He explained me that they are the Donzi Classics. He went on to say that you don't see many because Donzi has started making the Z Boats. Then he suggested that I should get one. I took his advice and here I am.

HyperDonzi

09-12-2002, 06:13 PM

Scott B, that is how i need to do it. just show up with a boat.

how i caught it:
i was 11, my mom bought me a hotboat magazine, for the next week when we would be going on vacation. of course, i read this later that day and there was this NICE red and white 28 footer on page 16 that i couldnt get out of my head. turns out to be a 28zx which i still love the look of.

over the next few years, donzi-itis stated to wear off, then last summer i saw a tan and yellow 18 classic and the bug bit and i am still here now.

hope i can get one soon.
Tommy

Air 22

09-12-2002, 06:28 PM

I was 10 yrs old, a summer morning on Lake George when I heard this rumble comming down the lake. To my amazement I saw a little red boat that looked great, sounded awsome and hauled ass on top of the water. After racing motor cycles speed was in my blood. My dad was working on our SEARAY ahhh!!! and I said..."Dad what is that?" He replied..."Son that is a DONZI, 18 Classic, one great boat!
Well, I said to myself...one day, one day I'm going to get one of those. 25 years later, Summer 2001, one test-ride from Fast Eddie.... and very proud of her, I have a 22' Classic...RED! Yeah Baby!!

Ralph Savarese

09-12-2002, 08:06 PM

Father was the original owerner 66 2+3 tripple hatch 18 been riding on it all my life
Ralph

smoothie

09-12-2002, 08:42 PM

What a great topic!
Well let me see it was back in 1976 on portage lakes,ohio,we lived on the lake,and the lake has a speed zone which is really a 5 mile oval,everybody pretty much just go's around in a circle in the same direction,and A guy down the lake had a red and white hornet with P29 on the sides of it,a bb that had some work done to it, When he would see some new competition in the zone we would hear that BB fire up and out to the lanes he would go,He would warm it up a lap and then let the jet boat have it,needless to say the Donzi would be in front at the end of the lake with a real smooth ride while the jetboat was bouncing all over the place,then he would pull it in to his boat garage and wait for his next victim,Everybody knew about P29.a few years later I purchased a 1968 16 ski sporter and had it for 10 years,then sold her,I dont know why,but I still see her on the lake,good to see the little lady every once in awhile....

Last Tango

09-12-2002, 09:18 PM

January, 2000
I was driving to work every morning and the boat dealer up the street had a red hulled 16 on a trailer, new and shiny. I drove past that boat every morning for a month and thought, "Man! That is one beautiful boat! I would love to have something like that if I ever bought another boat."
Then it was gone.
A week later, my best friend calls and says he has bought a new boat and would I like to go for a ride. Doesn't say what he bought. I put him off for a couple weeks, then finally we go. Very cool and windy February day, white caps on the water. We get into the Sweetest red boat..yep THAT Sweet boat. He had been out a couple times in it already by himself over the last couple weeks. It is just BEAUTIFUL! I'm gushing all over his boat. He fires the motor and the hair on my neck stands up.
As we idle away from the dock, he turns to me with a nasty grin and says, "Oh,...by the way, the FIRST ride is FREE."
I look over at him and think to myself "What a damn cheapskate! Is he gonna make me buy gas or something next time we go out?"
After about 45 minutes of slamming around and having an absolute ball, we come back. I'm totally in love. The dealer had an identical boat in yard. I walk over, look it all up and down, and then ask the price, not because I want to dicker, but because I need to know how big a check I'm gonna write.
Greg was right. The first ride WAS free. The second ride cost me $20,000.
I moved from that 16 after only 6 months...into a new 18. That was two years ago. Last year I added to my disease when I bought the Z3250 Daytona. I still have both boats.
"Hi! My name is Mark, and I have Donzi Fever."
(room responds, "Hi, Mark")

RPD

09-12-2002, 09:20 PM

1964 I think, I was in high school... my best friend worked for a marine dealership in Pensacola. The owner, who still owns and operates the dealership, had a red 16 ski-sporter with the 165 interceptor on the showroom floor, which was really for his use. I first saw it one night when we went down there after closing; it was the most beautiful boat I'd ever seen. The owner of the competing dealership across the street had a formula jr. for his use... I'll never forget once seeing them come into Bayou Texar from the bay and open them up side by side... awesome, the fastest I'd ever seen a boat run. I've noticed every single Donzi I've ever passed to this day.

Formula Jr

09-13-2002, 01:23 AM

Grew up as a wharf-rat kid on the Magothy River, Chesapeak Bay. A friend of my uncle was a Hydroplane racer and always had the coolest and best speed boats: 55 CC Cobra, G3 Glastron. One day he hit some submerged pilings and sank the Cobra. His next boat was a new '67 Yellow 18 2+3. In 1970 he got a Teal 19 Hornet. Unlike alot of powerboats of the time, these Donzis just sliced thru the water and everything about them was quality. Moved out west in '76 and kinda lost interest in "a land of no donzis" until I found this site. But I still also like sailboats and anything you can enjoy on the water. Both extremes have something to offer.

Scott Pearson

09-13-2002, 06:15 AM

I caught the bug one day when I was sitting on the toilet....It just came to me! I said to myself..."Self...why dont you start to collect Donzi's" The rest is history. Except the part where I ran out of toilet paper........ eek!

(NJ)Scott

knee deep

09-13-2002, 06:24 AM

some are sicker than others? charmin or cottonelle

Surfer

09-13-2002, 07:24 AM

I grew up in south Florida, about 1968 waverunner and I were burnin up Cypres lake behind his Woodson / Evinrude 33 when the rich kid on the other side of the lake would blow by in his 16. I've had revenge in my eyes ever since.

mattyboy

09-13-2002, 07:44 AM

Pearson,
do all your revelations come to you on the crapper eek! :D :D

Matt

BacDoc

09-13-2002, 07:59 AM

About three years ago was going to the local boat show and thought I was safe because I had just bought a Chris Craft 265 with a 454 mag the summer before. This boat was for family boating but I could go out after with a couple guys a go just under 60mph. I also had a 1960 wood Chris Craft with a 365 hp Corvette engine to play with. Well as I said I thought I was safe this time at the boat show when I turned the corner and there she was. A white with red stripe 22'Classic. I started to talk to the dealer and asked how fast she went and he says "mid 70's". I then said " in flat water,right" and he says "no,she's even faster with a little chop" . Thats the day I got bit and it hasn't let go since.
Dan

EricG

09-13-2002, 12:45 PM

My parents got divorced when I was 2. Dad moved into the Bachelor Pad on Lake Whatcom in Bellingham, WA - I moved with Mom to a small town in SW washington with no water. I looked forward to spending the summers on at Dad's more than anything...I had my little Outboard Hydro when I was about 6, and we spent a ton of time in the Tahiti Ski boat (which explains why Dad and I bought another one of those last year too....but that's a different story). Dad and his lake buddies always were talking about these little "Donzi's". I don't honestly think I ever saw one up there...but I knew they were something special. Dad moved off the lake, and I spent less and less time with him, but about once a year, he would pick me up from my grandparents house in Seattle and take me down to Lake Union to walk the docks......there I saw "it". It was a Sweet 16 hanging from the lifting eye's with a cockpit cover on it....it was breathtaking. I was obsessed with them from that point.....

After my boating led me to the "Go Fast" style of boating, I was finally able to buy the Z and own a piece of that mystique....but I still want a classic...there really isn't anything finer. A classic...Hmmmm wink

-EG

Laidback

09-13-2002, 03:13 PM

I was 16 working at a rest. called "Conch House" in St. Augustine. On Sundays they have what is called "Reggae Sunday", which is a great party "laidback" atmoshere. At 16, I would go down and bring liquor and ice to the bartenders and then one day I saw it. Actually I heard it first, a red and white C22 comes floating into the marina. That was it....hooked. I vowed to have one. This year at 29 I bought one exactly. Although I have had some problems since then with my dealer, I have no regrets. Backing off the trailer with everyones eyes and ears peeled is a classic moment and this moment happens every time I go into a marina, pass by other boats, and driving back into the ramp. What a thrill and joy to own!!!

BigGrizzly

09-14-2002, 06:28 PM

I have been in love with the V-hull ever since I saw my first Bertram in the early 1960. It was June of 1965. I was walking down the dock of Dales Yacht Basin in Bay Head New Jersey where I lived in the summer on my Dad’s boat. There was a new guy there,. with this new little red boat with a white strip down the deck, it had a white drive with a red shift cable sticking on the top of the drive. Up until that moment I though the best boat in the world was a Century Saber with the top and all. I asked what was in it and he said a 260 Ford. Just then my dad came walking down the dock he stopped and struck up a nice conversation with this guy and invited him to dinner. Later I got my only ride in that boat, it was true love. Little did I know my mom liked it too. A year later, the morning after talking to Mister “D” himself at a cocktail party, we drove to Signers marine on the route 33 circle in Belmar NJ and bough the little baby blue 16 Donzi that my sister still has today. I have had other boats but never gave up the Donzi, and see no reason to do it now!

fasttrucker

09-14-2002, 08:41 PM

i used to race another kid in high school.his 18ft donzi would beat me in the ruff chop but i would kick his ass in the clean stuff in my north american boss-2,18ft.i still remember the guadrajet carb secondarys kicking in,baaa-rooom.but now that iam 40 something and wanting to get back into my second childhood,i feel the need,the need for speed,oh and i might as well be in a nice riding,good looking red,white+blue.king donzi say ya. :)

Donzigo

09-15-2002, 07:52 AM

At 14, in 1964, my folks lived in Beruit, Lebanon. Dad worked for the FAA setting up VOR's in the middle east. Lebanon was known as: The riviera of the middle east"!. Very posh, very French culture, including topless beach girls, (yes, in an Arab country). Sundays would find my buddies and I down at the French beach clubs, trying to get a peek or two at the women, naturally. Many "go-fast" boats coming into the shore, and they just sparkled on the blue Mediterranian. I vowed, then, to have a boat. A guy would come blasting in, a beautiful woman would climb aboard, and out they'd go, it was too cool. Fast forward, to a time when I could make that happen, I saw an old ad with a yellow 16 - DONZI being put into an airplane being shipped to a rich person somewhere. I thought it was the most beautiful boat I had ever seen. I caught "DONZI FEVER". I looked for a year, for a DONZI, then, I found it, a Z-25 red, in Sarasota. I started negotiating with the owner in June and took possession in Febuary, the following year. He purchased the boat for $58,000, it had 43 hours on it. He couldn't bear to lower the price from $45,000; and, I couldn't afford to pay more. In January, he blinked, and I wrote the check. It's been mine ever since. I tell people: "Yes, I have a mistress, my DONZI. I wash it, because, I can't make love to it!"

KRAVEN

09-15-2002, 05:05 PM

I got bit by the DONZI bug 35yrs ago,spending summers as a kid on Harsen's Island on Lake St.Clair in Michigan.I enjoyed watching the 18 2+3 jumping the crusier wakes and vowed to someday own one myself.I got the pleasure of riding in my neighbors 69 Corisican 5yrs ago and the bug came back.I purchased the first Scorpion powered 18 in 2001 and have not regretted it.My wife and I have had the pleasure of meeting some of the nicest people,other fellow DONZI owners.Hope to meet with everyone in the near future.
Bill and Liz Kalinowski

29ZF_Dreamer

09-15-2002, 05:14 PM

I have always admired Donzis, but yesterday at the Tampa Boat Show, I not only caught the bug, I am INFECTED!!! I stumbled upon a Red 29ZF with a cuddy and drop-out bolster seats. I almost got my significant other to buy it on the spot, but we decided to wait until next spring and sell our cruiser in the interim and save a little for downpayment and electronics. I CAN'T WAIT!!!!

gjohns6896

09-15-2002, 07:49 PM

Growing up on my lake here in Central Illinois, there were never many sport-boats, except for the occassional jet-boats. However, I did used to see this one Donzi bow-rider, and up until about five years ago, it was always stored on a lift right across the lake from mom-and-dad's. Well, it is now gone, and since then, I have graduated from college and bought a house of my own on the same lake. First thing I did was buy a sea-doo, after owning those for over a decade, I NEEDED ONE! So, that was and still is my first toy.

After living in my house for over two years, I decided it was time to move up. I wanted something fast, but very reliable, and being raised with Cobalts, I only wanted the best. So, I asked my Uncle <Tom Johns, in St. Pete, FL> about what to get...without hesitation, he said in one sentence in one e-mail; Donzi 16 Classic. I had not a CLUE as to what he was talking about and had never seen a Classic.

So, fast-forward to today, and two months after my search began, I have acquired my own '92 Donzi 18 Classic. I am so glad I tok my Uncle's advice!

Mind you, after 25 years of living on a lake, and travelling the USA, I had never once seen a Donzi Classic. What a beautiful work of art! I will always have Donzi-itis!

Hopefully I can infect others with this plague....

P.S. I have not ridden my Sea-Doo in over a month...might as well sell that.

Cheers,
George

olredalert

09-15-2002, 08:21 PM

------Honestly cant remember wether it was 65 or 66.I had seen the adds and heard about DONZIs,and while I hadnt seen one in person they already had taken hold of me,big time.Whichever summer it was,a neighbor family with less common sense than mine bought their son a yellow 16.He sank it the first day,but it was resurrected quickly.God,did we have fun in that boat!It was pretty well wasted after about three years and he progressed up to a 28ft.Bertram Baron,and the fun continued!First DONZI was a used 68 Corsican in 1970.Poor boat was really in bad shape.At that point in my life I knew nothing about doing repairs.Everything I did seemed to make a bad situation worse,so I sold it.On a fairly steep learning curve,and a heavy DONZI jones I managed to wangle a DONZI dealership in 1971,and the rest as they say is history........just......ol red!(Bill S)

Craig

09-16-2002, 11:51 AM

It was 1970; I was 8 yrs. old... (another reminder that I just turned 40.. AAAAhhhhh!!!!). Anyway it was a yellow 18-2+3 at the Patterson Boat Company (Deep Creek Lake, MD). There was a bald guy there named Alden that worked on them (still does). I thought they were awesome. I thought for a long time that they (Donzi's ) must be European because, I reasoned, since the steering was on the left (not the right, like other boats), they must be backwards from U.S. boats since cars were opposite. Hey, I was only 8! Oh yea, to support my conclusion, I saw "made in Sweden" on the Volvo outdrive. I was actually surprised when I finally found out they were made in Fla. Guess I never looked at the chrome logo plate too close. Anyway, that was the first one I ever saw. 32 yrs. ago, and, though I like a lot of other boats for different reasons, still, to me, nothing like the 18!

markdonzi

09-16-2002, 12:06 PM

It was the summer of 1969 and I was a camper at Camp Chingachgook on Lake George. They used to have a very Large treefort down by the lake. After dinner I used to go down to the tree fort and watch. Right around sundown when the lake calmed down 4 or 5 donzis 16 and 18s I think would race up and down the lake. The sound they made and the way the boat rode made me vow to myself that one day that would be me. It took a while but last weekend I bought a white with red 16 classic and last night I was that guy. It felt good. Only problem was that the tree fort was not there as I went by.

Jake

09-16-2002, 06:45 PM

My story is almost 1 year old now. I a have always loved boats and last year I convinced my wife to go to the Annapolis Boat show. We were walking around and came to a 28 ZXO in the water and thought it was amazing. The guy told us to come aboard and we spend 15 minutes that felt like 15 seconds I loved it so much. He showed us everything and since then there has not been a day that I have not thought of Donzi's and my dream of owning one. I go to every boat show in the area I can to see them. I need to get a ride in one soon or I'll burst. I'm still waiting for my happy ending where I ride off into the sunset with my Donzi.

Jamesbon

09-16-2002, 07:16 PM

Must have been around '84, (when I was 14) I was in Ocean City MD tooling around the commercial fish docks, when I noticed this Bad A$$ boat moored behind, what is now Secrets. I was hooked.

As I reflect on those days with the knowledge I've gained now, it must have been a green & white 22 Classic.

I stayed in a trance until '86 when I purchased my 21 GT, at which point, I became OBSESSED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Formula Jr

09-17-2002, 02:39 AM

Those GT21s can really get to you.... They are sooooo sweet. :D

09-18-2002, 09:14 AM

Three years ago this fall when we acquired our house at the Lake of the Ozarks my wife and I started boat shopping. I hadn't spent much time in a boat since I was kid except for my fathers 17' bass boat with a 115 HP Evinrude, so we didn't really know what we wanted except bigger.

We found a 28' sport cruiser in good shape for a really good price and bought it. Since it was fall, we didn't take delivery until the following spring. It is a nice boat, but alot like driving a bus.

Last July a friend of mine decided to sell his Z33-Crossbow, one ride convinced me. I am no longer a bus driver. The day we took delivery another friend who used to race motorcycles was visiting, and you should have seen him smile when I cranked up those 454 mags.

Bill

smoothie

08-28-2007, 11:52 AM

Just thought maybe some of the new guys would like to add their Donzi bug to the list..

The Hedgehog

08-28-2007, 12:36 PM

I grew up around boats and was always somewhat interested in performance boats. My father was more into wooden boats, cruisers and sailboats. As far as I knew. When I came home from college one weekend he asked me if I wanted to drive down to Gulf Shores to pick up a new boat he just bought. I was certainly up for it. He told me that it was a Donzi 16 and he had always wanted to own one since he was a young. He told me that back in 65 a guy had one and it was the fastest boat on the lake. He bought a new 1990 16. We still have the boat today. I have gone on to other Donzi's

Donziweasel

08-28-2007, 02:51 PM

What is a "Donzi"?:eek!::bonk:

Donziweasel

08-28-2007, 02:55 PM

4 years old, Lake Rabun, North Georgia, had a 16 C that was baby blue. Had it until I was about 10. Sold, I cried and the rest is history. I do remember the damn thing was in the shop a lot growing up. Had a trimmable Volvo 210? but my dad didn't know about trimming the boat (all he had was wooden inboard Chris Crafts, loved them, throttle on the steering wheel, floor mounted shifter). Sometimes we would go half way down the lake until it planed! Once on a plane, it was the fastest thing on the lake until the mid to late 70's.

BUIZILLA

08-28-2007, 03:04 PM

Lake Rabun, North Georgia, had a 16 C that was baby blue. from about '62 till '69 we would go to Clayton GA every summer for a month or two, and we skiied on Lake Rabun several times week... we stayed at a small resort place called The Bynum House, on 76 just west of town that good friends of ours grandparents owned... small world... geez... remember the Dairy Queen on 441N??? Dillard House in Dillard?? rafting on the Toccoa???

Donziweasel

08-28-2007, 03:23 PM

I almost feel sorry for anyone who has never eaten at the Dillard House. That is a true North Georgia institution! We would all load up in our Jeep Wagoneer and hit the DQ for ice cream when it was hot. Did you ever stop at Tallula Gorge? You had to go by it from Atl to get to Rabun. Now I think there is another faster, but not better, way. Another memory is a resturant on Burton. Long tables and you ate with strangers or whoever was sitting there. Great Fried chicken and biscuits. For the life of me I can't remember the name of it, but hey I was only a kid. I will call my dad sooner or later the week and will ask him.

There were 3 Donzi's on Rabun back then, a red one with all black interior (and I mean all red! Don't even remember a stripe, although there probably was one. Looked like Tony's avatar), ours, and a white one. If I could have found a baby blue one for sale instead of my red one, I would have bought it in a heartbeat. I have an old pic of me about 5 years old in it. I am going to have it scanned and try and post it.

I haven't been to Rabun since probably 1980. I heard it, and that whole area, has really changed. Houses on evey single little piece of lake front, Clayton has grown, etc..... Shame as it use to be a quiet beautiful lake. Hell, on most of the west side you had to get to the houses by boat back then as there were no roads over there. People left there boats at Hall's Boat House. Just remembered, square dancing at Halls Boat House on Saturday nights. Ahhh, the memories!

gcarter

08-28-2007, 04:00 PM

In about 1970 I was working for LTV at the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston. I was really big into sailing. There were about three boats I regularly crewed on. I kept seeing these really pretty small power boats running around on Clear Lake. I was stunned by them. I finally learned they were called "Donzis". At that time the most desirable powerboats in the area were Century Resorters. These Donzis were so advanced styling wise.
A friend of mine was dating a lady that had a 16 hanging from davits behind her house. He was able to ride in it a lot, I never had the opportunity. I was green with envy.
Time went by, I got divorced, changed careers (worked in a naval architecture firm in Houston).... sand and gravel barges and offshore supply boats just weren't the same thing as a Donzi.
More time went by, got married twice more, started a business, finally about four years ago Elaine suggested I look into buying a Donzi. Most of you know the rest of the story.

cutwater

08-28-2007, 04:18 PM

Three years ago this Monday it was my junior year of college and I was with one of my friends and her family on their BBC 22' SeaRay Pachanga watching Labor Day fireworks on the Tennessee River. Her dad was also the one who got me hooked on wooden boats because he had a 1955 Chris Craft that I now own. Anyway, he caught me staring at what turned out to be a yellow-hulled 18 classic anchored across the river and I remember its great lines and thinking how small the boat looked. He told me not to be fooled because "most likely that thing's got a 350 in it. It's a Donzi." That was it for me.

hardcrab

08-28-2007, 04:25 PM

I got mine from a dirty toilet seat in a Trailways bus station in Amarillo Texas.:toiletpap

No, that was something else,
It was '69 - '70ish, there were two Donzi's hanging in a boathouse on my creek. One was an 18 V-drive named Easy Rider (red with white letters) the other was a 16' (also dark color) named Runnin' Scared
Every once in a while we'd see them tearing up the river. Just nothing else quite the same, then or now. :yes:

mphatc

08-28-2007, 07:25 PM

Smoothie, great thread, glad you dug this up . . !

Growing up on Winnipesaukee as a sailor and a Windsurfer . .I once placed 7th in the Windsurfer Worlds . . power boats were foreign and almost forbidden in my family . . but my love for speed, and fast cars always attracted me to the Donzi's. These were the first fast boats that ran through rough water and would be out when we were sailing.

The bug really bit me when I learned how to water ski behind a Corsican in 1971 .
I always wanted one since then. I had to wait until 2002 to have my own.

Mario L.
C18 C32

tom freeman

08-28-2007, 07:45 PM

from about '62 till '69 we would go to Clayton GA every summer for a month or two, and we skiied on Lake Rabun several times week... we stayed at a small resort place called The Bynum House, on 76 just west of town that good friends of ours grandparents owned... small world... geez... remember the Dairy Queen on 441N??? Dillard House in Dillard?? rafting on the Toccoa???

my dad grew up in the "DILLARD HOUSE" he lived in that house befor it became a resturant in the late 40's... and his mother use to walk me to that dairy queen, which is still there by the way. it is a totally small world. i go thru Clayton every year and the Radun gap up the road.

tom freeman

08-28-2007, 07:48 PM

I almost feel sorry for anyone who has never eaten at the Dillard House. That is a true North Georgia institution! We would all load up in our Jeep Wagoneer and hit the DQ for ice cream when it was hot. Did you ever stop at Tallula Gorge? You had to go by it from Atl to get to Rabun. Now I think there is another faster, but not better, way. Another memory is a resturant on Burton. Long tables and you ate with strangers or whoever was sitting there. Great Fried chicken and biscuits. For the life of me I can't remember the name of it, but hey I was only a kid. I will call my dad sooner or later the week and will ask him.
There were 3 Donzi's on Rabun back then, a red one with all black interior (and I mean all red! Don't even remember a stripe, although there probably was one. Looked like Tony's avatar), ours, and a white one. If I could have found a baby blue one for sale instead of my red one, I would have bought it in a heartbeat. I have an old pic of me about 5 years old in it. I am going to have it scanned and try and post it.
I haven't been to Rabun since probably 1980. I heard it, and that whole area, has really changed. Houses on evey single little piece of lake front, Clayton has grown, etc..... Shame as it use to be a quiet beautiful lake. Hell, on most of the west side you had to get to the houses by boat back then as there were no roads over there. People left there boats at Hall's Boat House. Just remembered, square dancing at Halls Boat House on Saturday nights. Ahhh, the memories!

the resturant is called laprads, it is across from a trout hatchery

Donzigo

08-28-2007, 07:58 PM

A friend of mine had a small 16 Donzi and I always loved riding in it. I thought it was cool name.

DonziFreak

08-28-2007, 08:02 PM

my grandfather bought our '67 18 barrel-back from Duff Daily in '73 when it was named "Southern Comfort", he re-named it "Ale", after my grandmother and we've owned it since then! i was basicly born into that boat, and i would'nt have it any other way :yes:

BUIZILLA

08-28-2007, 08:03 PM

that's about a 6-8 mile walk from the Dillard House south to the DQ in Clayton.... ummmm chili cheese dogs and a mixed cone....ummmmmmmmmm there was a restaurant right on 441 at the Rabun bridge that had long tables, west side of the road, south side of the lake, deck hung out over the lake a tad... the trout farm was on CR197 a few miles south of 76 I thought, west side of the lake, Moccassin Creek State Park was next to it, Janice and I camped there in our Starcraft popup in the 70's..... Black Rock Mountain State Park looked directly down on the place we used to stay, you could see our catfish pond and cows from the overlook, we used to (actually attempt to mind you I was only 9-16 in age back then) milk the cows for the resort kitchen... there was also a clogging barn by a school in Mountain City east side of 441... there is a kickass RV Resort right there now by the old clogging barn, called Riverview RV Resort or something like that... there was a Chevy-GM store in town and a Ford store just south of that where we would ride our bikes and check out the new cars, lots of shine runners around those parts, many had black 406 or 427 Galaxies with red or blue interiors and 4 speeds...

Donziweasel

08-28-2007, 08:31 PM

Laprads! Your right, great resturant. I just remember driving for a while to get there. All the way around Lake Rabun, Seed and somewhere near Burton. Like I said, great fried chicken! It was always busy as hell in the summer.

Buiz, you milked cows? Could you please post a pic of this activity if you have one in your possesion?:bonk:

I remember a freind of the family who also had a house on Rabun was freinds with some of the mountain folk. They invited us to go on a catfish catch. They took us a to a good sized river and took a wire with a magnet on it and stretched it across the river. Then they hooked the wire up to an old phone with the rotary generator (handle you turned very fast in the old days on the phone). As they did this, they pulled the wire through the river. All the catfish were shocked and floated to the surface. We all went out with burlap sacks and filled em up. I bet we had 300 in no time. Then we had a huge catfish fry. Some of those Appalacian mountain folks back then were kinda rough.

zelatore

08-28-2007, 11:35 PM

Well, I don't have much history with Donzis, but my boating history pretty much began at birth.

Both of my parents were boaters. On my mother's side, my grandparents owned Jim Freels Lake Shore Boat Shop on Kentucky Lake. Before that, my grandfather had worked in Evanasville, IN at the local Chris Craft dealer. Before that, his father (my great-grandfather) had been a river rat, and before that his father (my great-great grandfather) had been a paddle wheel owner/operator on the Ohio and Green rivers...I only recently got a couple turn of the century pics of him with two of his rigs that he used to haul stuff up the rivers for the locals.

Then there was my uncle on that side of the family who ran his own shop servicing and selling houseboats on the lakes. He also ran deliveries on the Ten/Tom. I can still remember him towing a broken down houseboat out of the Ohio's main channel with an early jetski...must have been around '80 or so.

My father had grown up in Evansville as a river rat...always out messing around in small boats, generally getting into trouble, etc. His father had passed away when he was relativly young, and I don't know much of the family history on that side. My father build a 21' plywood cuddy kit boat with a 60 (?) hp Johnson in about '67, and when he got married in '69 he took it from Evansville to the gulf and back for his honeymoon. Easy year to remember, as Camile came through not long after the trip.

With my grandparants living on lake Barkely and having a shop on the water(later moved inland to Paducha, KY) I pretty much spent every weekend in the summer camped in the Land Between the Lakes through the 70's and into the 80's. We had an 18' Renkin (305 Merc that later was replaced with a 350) that I learned to ski behind when I was about 7. But by the time I was 16 I had a driver's licence and a job and the family outings pretty much dwindled.

Fast forward to 1998. I was moving to CA from IN. While out visiting my girlfriend and checking out places to live we were driving in the delta when I spotted a trawler cruising up river and made the off the cuff remark 'well, we could just live on a boat...' The silly girl took me seriously. About 6 months later I had sold most of my stuff and we were living on a 36' Uniflite aft cabin in Redwood City, CA. The local broker kept pestering me to come work for him as I was just hanging around the marina fixing up the old Uniflite and seemed to know something about boats, so eventually I did. I later realized he wasn't much of a broker and I went to work for my current dealership in Oakland. We eventually sold the Uniflite and bought a house about 3 blocks off the Sacramento river in a little town called Walnut Grove. By now we had a 32' Carver and my Dad's old Renkin. While out at a 4th of July raft up one year (around 2004), one of our customers came over in a 22 Classic he had just bought in Florida. White with a red stripe, 454 Mag - Man, it looked good. I didn't know much about Donzi other than the name...since I didn't work with performance boats they were sort of off my radar. But the image stuck with me, and in 2006 what started off as a minor restoration of the interior of the old Renkin became a major redo. My girlfriend wanted a very retro style seating. I kept saying 'I know exactly what you want - you want seats like a Donzi Classic' I showed her pictures and she agreed. When we started looking at $3-4000 to build a custom interior I started doing some creative math and figured if I took that $4K+the money I could get from selling that boat+a little cash I had laying around that was earmarked for getting back into vintage racing...well heck, I could just buy a Donzi and be done with it!

So earlier this year I finally found my 22 Classic. By far the fastest boat I've ever owned at a little over 70 mph. And it's only going to get faster :wink: I'm still shocked at how much it turns heads and how people I hardly know don't give a rat's ass about my Carver, my Triumphs, my Alfas or any of my other toys, but when they hear I've got a Donzi - well, they're impressed!

I don't care much for garish off-shores. Sure, they're fast and a lot of fun, but the over the top colors and graphics that look cool today are soooooo dated tomorrow. The Donzi Classics are anything but. The style looked great in the 60's and it looks great now. Even people who don't know anything about boats can tell it's something special. And while they're pretty rare out here in the west, you still can't launch the thing without striking up a converstation about it.

I'm hooked. Yeah, I'll problaby always have (or at least want) a bigger cruising boat, but the Donzi's a keeper. Winding through the tullies and sloughs in the delta at 60 mph is just too much fun :hyper:

(was that long winded enough? :bonk:)

Lenny

08-28-2007, 11:43 PM

we used to (actually attempt to mind you I was only 9-16 in age back then) milk the cows

I KNEW there was sump'in kreepy 'bout yooo....

Couldn't put my finger on it to date, ... but JUST DID. !!!

Jim has a cow fetish and a Toyota glitch...

Who ???? specializes in THAT ???

Her ???
http://youtube.com/watch?v=lj3iNxZ8Dww

ky-donzi

08-29-2007, 02:51 PM

Well Where do I start

I have had boats in the past but never anything fast or flashy. My wife had been on me to buy another boat and I had a little extra money from a real estate investment. So i started looking. I didn't really know what I wanted but I have always liked the retro stuff (own a 70' vette, 59 chevy bel-air, live in a 115 year old house, ect.) I was looking on ebay at boats one day, and saw one. A Donzi sweet sixteen. I could not believe that it was 4 years old, it was styled like a 40 year old boat. I thought to myself,, this is exactly what I want. It looks old, but performs new. So I started looking everywhere, internet, calling dealers, ect. I found a 98'-18 classic and I'm totally in love! I believe I'm hooked.

I boat on Ky, and Barkley lakes (Western Ky) not many people have heard of a DONZI around here. Everyone wants a Baja. I had the ultimate head swell the other day I was launching my boat at the same time as a guy with a 04ish baja 27'er and everyone was eyeing my boat and not his. Then he walked over and said "Man, what is that, that is the most beautiful boat I have ever seen" He was right, a Donzi classic is the most beautiful boat ever made.

TBroccoli

08-31-2007, 01:27 PM

I grew up on the Sasafrass river. When I was around 8 to 10yrs old there was about 4 guys that had sweet 16's. The coolest was orange. We could hear them racing around the bend in the river all weekend long. As I grew up my friends all began getting their own boats. They would always ask me when I was going to get my own boat. I can use my father's 46 Bertram when ever I want. I always stated that I don't need my own boat but if I were to get one it would only be a Donzi like that orange Sweet 16 I use to see. Sure enough after many years of looking on the internet I found exactly what I wanted and it was close by. After one look I bought it. (not a sweet 16 but a 22 Classic - Red) Best thing I ever did for myself.

ky-donzi

08-31-2007, 02:27 PM

Well where do I start

I have had boats for a while but never anything fast or flashy. I had been out of the boating scene for a while and my wife had been on me to buy another boat. I had a little bit of money coming my way from some real estate investments, so I started looking about a year ago. I acctually never had heard of a DONZI until one day when looking on ebay i saw one. It was a sweetsixteen, I thought to myself that is exactly what I was going to get. I had always been into the retro stuff (got a 70 vette, 59 chevy bel-air, live in a 115 year old house). This was what I needed, something that was styled like it was 40 years old but wasn't. I found mine about 2 months ago in New Hamp. everyone said can't you find a boat closer...they just didn't understand what it was like to get bit by a Donzi bug...haha you do stuff like drive 600 miles to get a used boat that cost almost as much as two new ones...haha

I boat at Ky and Barkley lakes, not many people around here have heard of a DONZI, most people want Baja boats. The other day I was launching my boat at the same time as this guy with a 05'ish Baja 27' and no one noticed him, they were all looking at my 18 classic. The guy came over and said "Man what is that, that is the most beautiful boat I have ever seen." he was right a classic DONZI is the most beautiful boat ever made!

wrussellw

09-01-2007, 01:07 PM

I was sitting on the banks of the Columbia river in Kenewick, Washington, probaly summer of 1967, skipping rocks, waiting for Ms Bud to blow away all the other hydros that day.
The old man was busy at Hanford making nuclear bombs, so we had to ride our bikes to town. Got there hours and hours before the first heat.
A guy flies by in a Donzi with a good-looking co-pilot, turns around and ask my brother and I if we want a ride. My older probaly doesn't even remember the boat or ride, he had never saw that much skin showing on a women before.
I wanted the guy to take me home and adopt me. Got him to show me his engine, let me rev the engine in neutral, i was hooked.

Carpe Donzi

09-01-2007, 02:12 PM

When in my teens, I'd go to the annual boat show in town. I can't recall if it was there I saw a Classic, or only picked up just the color brochure. It was the only brochure that I'd on to over the years; it did not have to go under the bed like the Playboy mags.

So move forward forty years. The Leica M-series and Porsche 911 still are being made, created in the 50's and 60's respectively. The better forged chef's knives, the Steinway Grand, Klipsch speakers, a few guns I suppose, all still have a significant following. And Donzi's Classic - finally, how could a purchase like that go wrong? "Vegas and Roadtrip" conspired and helped me pull the trigger. Couldn't be happier.

So the black-striped 18 with Bravo, starting life in 1998 at Lake George, to Las Vegas in 2006 and then back to NY, is one of the greatest looking power boats on the Upper Niagara River. Still the only boat that pleases my eyes.

Still looking for a copy of the owner's manual, other literature if someone would go to the trouble of copying and sending to me, postage and related costs reimbursed.