Blackhawk Magazine Article

[Rene496]

Can anyone scan the pages from the 1995 Motorboat and Sailing magazine article on the Blackhawk LE 22? I would love to see what they say about it. Are there any other magazine articles on the Blackhawk?

[blackhawk]

I didn't realize there was an article on the BH. I would like to see that.

[Carl C]

Here is an article from the Sept. '93 Powerboat mag. I don't know if this is what you're looking for.

[Hotspare]

Rene ,,,,,,,,,,

I believe I've got that in stock ...........

[MOP]

Thanks for the articles some good reading, what they say about handling is spot on nothing short of fantastic. I still have a love affair with the drive though it is stored for now. I am out on Long Island where Hustler builds and tests their boats, they launch from our local ramp. I was down there doing some of my own BH testing on the Beast, Hustler pulled up with a monster which stopped me in my tracks. I went over like a little kid with a mouth full of questions, the guy was really nice and answered every last one. Well he turned out to be the owner of Hustler, he noticed the BH drive on mine and gave me a couple of ideas. He went on to say how much he loved the drive and its handling but it fell short with big HP. He wishes Merc would bring it back improved to handle more HP, he feels it is the best design for high performance ever.

Phil

[Rene496]

Awesome that is exactly the article I was looking for.
Thanks
René

[Hotspare]

Rene ..........

Glad that hit the spot Brother ......... I archive all the classic stuff I can .......
You can't imagine the anticipation and excitement over that boat when she hit the floor ........ I saw my first one just shortly after that press release at the Dallas boat show .......... She literally stoled the show ............ She sold within days, which made her even more elicit ...... What a score for Donzi Fans ........ The sleeping giant had returned to its roots .............. I remember Fountain had just come out with there 24 footer at the same show .......... All there sales people were gauking at the croud surrounding the Blackhawk ..... Think Fountain was beginning to see the writing on the wall at that point ......

Anyway, glad you liked it ...........

Later on ............. Bruce..

[blackhawk]

Cool article. Interesting opinions on the handling of the Blackhawk though. :confused:

[Hotspare]

Blackhawk ..............

Very interesting point you bring up here ...... With the handling issues that have been so widely expressed on this and other forums ...... I've driven a few, and have ridden in a few others, but I've never owned one ..... So based on that I'd say my opinions would be ameture at best .... But I'd like to give the Lake X boys the benefit of the doubt on this one ...... Could it be that these guys, being professional drivers, and riggers, were better equipped to handle the complexities of this vessel at various pwr settings and conditions ????? And, if so,,,,,, Could it be that this vessel was just too much of a handfull for the average joe, (like me) to handle in the first place ??????? The cover story would imply a young lady can drive WOT with the greatest of ease .............LOL... Well, I sure don't have any answers ......... (not to slight the women drivers either) ..... Or,,,,,, Did the Lake X Boy's simply let one get away ??????? Hummmmmmmm .................. LOL....

[Rene496]

I thought it was odd that they did not say anything about the extremely high speed around the docks. My biggest complaint about the blackhawk is the speed and wake it produces when it is just in gear and idling. It seems like I’m going 10 mph. Oh well I just have to get alot more seat time. I do wish there were more articles from other magazines about the blackhawk and its handling.

[MOP]

The rocker is what makes the BH a handfull as it does in any boat, with out the rocker it would be considerably slower. The BH drive gives no bow lift on a straight keeled hull, Donzi added rocker to the hull to allow it rock back onto the shorter aft section to have less wetted surface. I loved the BH on my 22 the handling was fantastic but top end sucked, I swapped to a BravoX and went from 59 to 65.7 with my small block.

Phil

[blackhawk]

The rocker is what makes the BH a handfull as it does in any boat, with out the rocker it would be considerably slower. The BH drive gives no bow lift on a straight keeled hull, Donzi added rocker to the hull to allow it rock back onto the shorter aft section to have less wetted surface. I loved the BH on my 22 the handling was fantastic but top end sucked, I swapped to a BravoX and went from 59 to 65.7 with my small block.
Phil

Exactly, and this test boat was the blackhawk edition with the rocker. Anyone that owns one knows they suck in the slop and side boat wakes can be scary.

Professional driver or not, you will have your hands full in certain conditions when other V's are okay. I had to laugh at the "boat wake" comment in the article. I had 5 years of seat time in mine and I drove the chit out of my boat. The first season was a learning curve. Bottom line, you had to REALLY read the water and be fast with tab adjustments. Getting off the throttle made things worse. Stay in it and drop the tabs. But, sometimes those tabs do not move fast enough! :D

[Hotspare]

BH .........

We don't mean to provoke you into giving up any hard earned trade secrets based on your extensive seat time ........ We just wana hear more about being on the edge in that thing ....... Most of us will never own one, much less be in one when all hell breaks loose ....... Your rendition on sloppy waters was quite vivid though ........ It got my butt in a pucker just reading it .............LOL..... I can't imagine throttleing through and even trying to find the tab switches in time, much less having the balls to do it ........ I've seen your videos, you know what your doing alright ......

[blackhawk]

Hotspare, the best thing I ever did was putting the tab switches in the throttle handle. That way I could control the trim, tabs and throttle all at the same time. Also the cheapest - $5! :D

The 280 tabs was the second best improvement. $150 I think.

Then the hydraulic steering - $3000. LOL

Other than that seat time, big ballz and the love of riding on the edge! :D

Honestly, after a season with a few WFO runs as my brother as copilot(he loves riding on the edge) I figured out how the boat handled for the most part. But, the only way to find out where the edge was at was to pass it for a brief second then come back. And there were always the rare surprises.

I loved the boat in the right conditions. Good head on or following chop in a straight line. Didn't see those conditions very often though. I was usually in the snot. :(

[blackhawk]

I've seen your videos, you know what your doing alright ......

Hotspare, I wish i would have gotten some videos in the snot with my Blackhawk. I had some good ones!

Had four people in the boat on Torch lake and a rare strong wind from the north. Nice, rhythmic 2-3' chop coming right at us. Ran WFO for several miles and the blackhawk just aired out and ate that stuff up. Wind in my face made it feel like we were doing 100mph! :D

Another day my brother and I were on Torch again and it was a washing machine, total slop. We rolled up on a 27' Fountain and it was on! I'd pull on him a get a boat or two between us. Then I'd hit hit some snot and he'd pull on me. Constant tab, trim and throttle adjustments. Back and forth we ran WFO and neck and neck for about 8 miles!

To this day one of my best memories of my Blackhawk. :biggrin.:

[Bad-Tat]

Blackhawk is right on about the slop handling. Seat time and tabs on the throttle are the only thing to figure it out and then push it. Be very careful into the wind 2-4'chop quartering across over 75mph!!!!! Wasn't purty! Broke the battery loose but didn't take on any water!!!

[Hotspare]

BH ......... Sounds like you and your brother were a perfect match for that boat ...... Both thrill seeking & on the edge kind of guy's ...... Makes one wonder (me for instance) if the duty's could be split a bit in a rig like that ......... You know ,,,,,, Kinda like a driver and throttleman sanero ....... Center mounted throttle, remote tab switches, stuff like that while running in snotty conditions .......... Just a crazy thought I had .......... I've got some footage of a 22cl running in a APBA offshore race in florida, by far the smallest boat running ........ Not even sure they were legal, they entered as a local class ,,,, what ever that means with regard to points and stuff ......... But anyway ,,,,, they were in bigger water than they should have been ....... Two guys running the thing, one driving, and one throttleing (center mounted throttle) ....... They were making it go though ,,,,,,, quite a sight to see ......LOL... Keep it going, the storys are great !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D

[gero1]

if you look at where the water is spraying out from underneath the hull you can tell she has alot of tab in the water,boat is running flat and no where near the back pad. also looks like very calm water. my b/h will only run about 45 with the tabs all the way down no matter how hard you push on the throttle. boat also handles very different on cold water vers. warm water. i have hit 81.7 on gps in a bone stock b/h, they are very stable to about 80.6 and then they start to fish tail and it gets worse the longer you try to make it to 82. gps was still climbing at 81.7 a 1/10 at a time when i backed out of it, skipping across the water at that speed,sideways right to left that much looking over the side glass to see where i was going. i was told i ran out of hull, i think it was someone on my shoulder reminding me about external steering and what happens when things break! for that voice i am forever greatfull, thanks trip

[blackhawk]

if you look at where the water is spraying out from underneath the hull you can tell she has alot of tab in the water,boat is running flat and no where near the back pad. also looks like very calm water. my b/h will only run about 45 with the tabs all the way down no matter how hard you push on the throttle. boat also handles very different on cold water vers. warm water. i have hit 81.7 on gps in a bone stock b/h, they are very stable to about 80.6 and then they start to fish tail and it gets worse the longer you try to make it to 82. gps was still climbing at 81.7 a 1/10 at a time when i backed out of it, skipping across the water at that speed,sideways right to left that much looking over the side glass to see where i was going. i was told i ran out of hull, i think it was someone on my shoulder reminding me about external steering and what happens when things break! for that voice i am forever greatfull, thanks trip


Yeah it is running wet in that pic but it doesn't look like a WFO run. Definitely got to get the blackhawk back on the rocker pad and lightened up to run rast. I swear there's only about 6" of boat in the water when running trimmed out! :D But, I think this is also why the blackhawk is poor handling in the slop. :(