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gcarter
01-30-2006, 09:50 PM
The other day I made some comments about mid '80's Donzi 22's and Minx potential cockpit floor and stringer issues.
I was wrong to say ALL boats of this era had these problems.
That doesn't mean I didn't mean every word of what I said, but I've since changed my mind. You can find this at;
http://www.donzi.net/forums/showthread.php?t=43454
Now the reason I changed my mind is that on Saturday I went to Jim Collins Sr's house and looked at Buizilla's ex Minx. This is a remarkably fine example of a Minx and what it should be.
Unfortunately, they aren't ALL built the same.
I spent the rest of the weekend trying to figure out the difference.
When I said that ALL the said boats in this era had problems that would need attention was because that if all these boats had the same components as mine and were assembled the same way as mine, then ALL would need attention eventually even if never used.
Thumbnail is of Jim Sr's Minx
http://www.donzi.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=964&d=1078712958
This was my boat before the resto.
http://www.donzi.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=17557&d=1138251097
This is of the same area of the '87 Minx that was for sale.

gcarter
01-30-2006, 10:06 PM
Now why is there so much difference?
The way the boat's used may be part of it, but I think the real answer was a problem of assembly tolerance stack up.
In other words, if all the components were nominal dimensions, then the boat went together with adequate clearance without the collision of cockpit floor bottom and the stringers.
You might ask, "What about the tabs?"
Well the tabs were never designed to act in compression, only tension.
If, for instance, the stringers were mounted a little high (mine had 1/2" clearance above the hull at the outside of the stringers) that obviously would reduce clearance. If the cockpit floor was layed up a little bit thicker, etc, etc.
You get the idea.
There's a lot more to this subject, maybe I'll add more later.
Mainly, I want potential purchasers to be aware of what to look for.

Tim Morris
01-31-2006, 06:20 AM
Good on ya George!
I never knew these problems existed with the Minx until you got into your restoration. Keep digging, and keep us posted.

My Minx shows no signs of these problems ('87 with about 500 hrs).
Generally, I have attributed these issues to abuse, but the more you post,
the more I'm inclined to agree with varying build tolerances.

Maybe MinxGuy will see this and offer an opinion.

CHACHI
01-31-2006, 06:24 AM
I wont be able to help for another 2-3 months. I won't be going up to the river again until April. I will keep you posted. Ken

Morgan's Cloud
01-31-2006, 09:01 AM
George , I think that an apology , if it applies , lies only in the generalisation as such .
Not many here have done the whole hog resto nearly singlehanded as you have. Although the subject comes up regularly , I would wager that only a small percentage of total members here have done a 'deck off ' job of any sort.
When we undertake such jobs ourselves we become privy to things not many get to see .
Even though we all share our affections for the brand , I have no misconceptions that these boats are either unbreakable or the golden standard.
Information (and therefore opinions also) shared that is aquired through hands on experience should should always be highly valued by others who have yet to go down the same road.
Wether it is pleasant or not I value your input .... don't beat up on yourself.
Steve

BUIZILLA
01-31-2006, 09:14 AM
welp, the completely, totally and thoroughly trashed Minx LE that was at Grove Key prolly had the tub clearance that shows in the above pic.... the floor of that specific hull was completely buckled, warped, and cracked from something underneath moving around, that's for sure. It was terrible. I was REALLY impressed with the overall original build-out on my Minx boat. :yes: that is a really, really GOOD boat. My 18LE is an even better built boat than my Minx. All Minx's could stand further support under the rear seat/battery box area to the stringer itself. The most common cracks were from the top edge of the battery box hatch steo, proceeding outboard from there.

I do know on my 1980 Critter, that out of the 12 attaching tabs for the deck/inner liner that I visually found, 11 were broken off, or had become unattached.... I remedied that situation with all new tabs, and then completely bonded the hull to the deck, before re-attaching a new rubrail. It's as strong as a cruise ship now... ;)

JH

MR MAGOO
01-31-2006, 10:15 AM
Hey Jim, who know his Donzi's :biggrin.: :biggrin.:

Am I not The Man or what :wavey:

Kurt :wink:

BUIZILLA
01-31-2006, 10:38 AM
Yo Kurt, Mr. Konrad himself makes a guest appearance...

JH