28ZX Stability - Rough Water & Calm Water - Need Your Opinion - Buying Soon!

[kswest]

Did a sea trial on a 28ZX yesterday with the 6.2 mercs. My surveyor (an ex pro throttle man) and I were disappointed with the boat's handling. It took a lot of work (constant little adjustments) to get it to go where you wanted it to and seems unstable (like it could dart anywhere at anytime).

Before this run I was set on a 28' donzi with twin, but now I am second guessing.

Does this sound typical for this boat, or was this particular boat just a P.O.S.? Everything checked out pretty well on the survey and all the other comments I have dug up on OSO say the 28ZX is great in the rough. This was in calm.

Something to note ...

Boat had 1/2 cable, 1/2 hydraullic steering.

TIA for your comments.

[undertaker]

I owned a 2000 28ZX with twin 350 MAGS had NO handling issues at all, I loved the boat sold it to move up to a 33ZX. You might want to talk to Shanghied Again on this board he is a Donzi dealer who knows his stuff when it comes to ZX's IMO. A 28ZX with the 6.2 would be sweet:eek!: :eek!: . My boat ran 72 MPH all day long. Good luck.

Undertaker:beer:

PS The 1/2 cable 1/2 hydraulic steering sounds NOT right to me mine had full hydraulic steering from the factory...:odie:

[kswest]

I owned a 2000 28ZX with twin 350 MAGS had NO handling issues at all, I loved the boat sold it to move up to a 33ZX. You might want to talk to Shanghied Again on this board he is a Donzi dealer who knows his stuff when it comes to ZX's IMO. A 28ZX with the 6.2 would be sweet:eek!: :eek!: . My boat ran 72 MPH all day long. Good luck.
Undertaker:beer:
PS The 1/2 cable 1/2 hydraulic steering sounds NOT right to me mine had full hydraulic steering from the factory...:odie:

OK. Thanks, this is encouraging. I was really dead set on a 28ZX until I drove this one yesterday and thought I may have been misguided all along.

I think the original buyer may have skimped out on the steering and went with the 1/2 cable to save a couple bucks. I am looking at a slightly older boat (2000) with the 350s on Saturday that I think has hydro all the way back. Hopefully will be a totally different story and I'll be boating soon. better color combo too ;)

:checkered

[undertaker]

Also MR X on this board owns a 2000 28ZX scorpion and he loves it. I would not give up on Donzi just take your time and find the RIGHT one.:biggrin: :biggrin: Again good luck keep us posted...:biggrin: :biggrin:

Undertaker

[kswest]

Thanks. hopefully he will see this and chime in.

-Kyle :beer:

[Mr X]

Chiming in,

I was the test driver at the Donzi factory for a few years.
I have driven more 28ZX's than I can count.
Not bragging.....just letting you know my background.

IMHO the 28ZX was the finest and best handling of the ZX fleet

I have NEVER experianced or even heard anyone describe the handling
you were encountering.

Your P.S. answered the mystery for sure.

The ONLY thing that it could be is a defective steering system.

There was a problem with the 1/2 cable 1/2 hydraulic steering.

A few boats had the wrong saginaw steering actuator installed on them.

That is definatly what is wrong with the boat.


Good luck!

P.S. the ZXO is slower......keep that in mind.
Its a fairly easy fix, I had to change out a few of them.

[kswest]

Chiming in,
I was the test driver at the Donzi factory for a few years.
I have driven more 28ZX's than I can count.
Not bragging.....just letting you know my background.
IMHO the 28ZX was the finest and best handling of the ZX fleet
I have NEVER experianced or even heard anyone describe the handling
you were encountering.
Your P.S. answered the mystery for sure.
The ONLY thing that it could be is a defective steering system.
There was a problem with the 1/2 cable 1/2 hydraulic steering.
A few boats had the wrong saginaw steering actuator installed on them.
That is definatly what is wrong with the boat.
Good luck!
P.S. the ZXO is slower......keep that in mind.
Its a fairly easy fix, I had to change out a few of them.


GREAT. Thanks for the chime ... I can continue the search.

In your opinion is THIS 28zx worth continuing to look at then upgrading / fixing the steering or should I steer (no pun intended) away from it all together? It checked out very well on the survey, just terribly on the sea trial.

I am not looking at the ZXO at all. Need the cabin.

Thanks,

Kyle

[Mr X]

I would definatly keep on this one.....
Where are you in Florida, I anm guessing Key West...from your name?

Is there a way you could make the deal pending fixing the steering?
What year is the boat? Any chance it has the Z-care 5 year warrenty?

[kswest]

I would definatly keep on this one.....
Where are you in Florida, I anm guessing Key West...from your name?
Is there a way you could make the deal pending fixing the steering?
What year is the boat? Any chance it has the Z-care 5 year warrenty?

I am in Cocoa Beach, boat is in Ft. Lauderdale. The screen name is my name Kyle S West.

I haven't formally presented my offer yet, I should have the marine survey by the end of the week. The boat is an '01 so if it did have the warranty it would be over or soon be over. Nothing has been said about it so I am assuming warranty is over.

Here's a link...

http://www.boattraderonline.com/caddetail.html?/ad-cache/6/4/5/82940145.htm

My big hesitation is getting the boat, fixing the steering and then still having this problem. I have other 28ZXs to look at this weekend so I am sure after that I'll have a better idea what to do.

Thanks,

Kyle

[The Hedgehog]

GREAT. Thanks for the chime ... I can continue the search.
In your opinion is THIS 28zx worth continuing to look at then upgrading / fixing the steering or should I steer (no pun intended) away from it all together? It checked out very well on the survey, just terribly on the sea trial.
I am not looking at the ZXO at all. Need the cabin.
Thanks,
Kyle

You should be able to convert the cable assist to full hydro no problem.

[bob haver]

GREAT. Thanks for the chime ... I can continue the search.
In your opinion is THIS 28zx worth continuing to look at then upgrading / fixing the steering or should I steer (no pun intended) away from it all together? It checked out very well on the survey, just terribly on the sea trial.
I am not looking at the ZXO at all. Need the cabin.
Thanks,
Kyle
i told ya that you would get your answer on the net these are the smartest guy's you will ever find& experinced.they eat sleep & love boat's THEY WON'T STEER YOU wrong ha ha good luck

[Mr X]

I am in Cocoa Beach, boat is in Ft. Lauderdale. The screen name is my name Kyle S West.
I haven't formally presented my offer yet, I should have the marine survey by the end of the week. The boat is an '01 so if it did have the warranty it would be over or soon be over. Nothing has been said about it so I am assuming warranty is over.
Here's a link...
http://www.boattraderonline.com/caddetail.html?/ad-cache/6/4/5/82940145.htm
My big hesitation is getting the boat, fixing the steering and then still having this problem. I have other 28ZXs to look at this weekend so I am sure after that I'll have a better idea what to do.
Thanks,
Kyle

The only other possibility is that the bottom is screwed up...and that is not likely. You could take a 5 ft straight edge and check the bottom, just to be sure.
Keep us posted on your adventure.
Feel free to contact me directly with any questions.

tedwork@tampabay.rr.com

[kswest]

i told ya that you would get your answer on the net these are the smartest guy's you will ever find& experinced.they eat sleep & love boat's THEY WON'T STEER YOU wrong ha ha good luck

You were certainly right. Funny thing is I found this site before OSO, but posted on OSO first.

Anyway ... I'll keep everyone posted. I want to make a move by next week so keep your fingers crossed for me.

Kyle

[LKSD]

Looks like they all have you going in the right direction... I am in agreement here too with everyone.. Good luck to you on the quest for your zx.. :) Jamie

[kswest]

As most of you have probably guessed I am the surveyor that was with Kyle on the sea trial part of the survey.
We were both disappointed with the feedback we were getting from this boat. It has Latham steering rams with Teleflex cable at the helm. We were in flat water and the boat was bow steering! We were never over-trimmed, but it felt like this boat had way too much stern lift. I suspect that there is some play in the steering actuator that is causing the wheel to be very sensitive, or at least, contributing to the poor handling.
This was the first 28 ZX I have sea trialed, so I have no other one to compare.

My surveyor just posted the above on another board. He is obviously more experienced than I and I am sure explained what was happening better than I did.

Thanks again, I am feeling encouraged and ready to go see some more Donzis this weekend.

-Kyle

[boxy]

Kyle, your surveyor mentions that the boat wasn't overtrimmed. I didn't see a transom shot in the ad, but assume that the boat has tabs, are they retracting fully ?

Donzi-net Smart Guys :D ... Would hanging tabs, combined with loose steering cause the bow steer he felt ?

[Johntrip]

Hey Kyle, best of luck with your search.... I bought the 33zx that Undertaker was talking about... drove from Miami to Maryland to pick it up.!! You just don't see many ZXs down here..... Anyway, when you find the right one we should hook up for a run.....!! Happy hunting.:shades:

[kswest]

Boat has tabs.

I think they were fully up but honestly don't know if they were or not. One indicator wasn't working at all, the other could have been on the fritz too??

[Rootsy]

were the props spinning outward or inward...

[RickSE]

What props are on the boat?

Looks like a nice boat at a fair price, especially with the 6.2L.

Mr.X is the man.

[kswest]

were the props spinning outward or inward...

I've heard this a few times now, but I am new to boating .... what the hell does that mean? And how would I know?

Thanks.

[kswest]

What props are on the boat?
Looks like a nice boat at a fair price, especially with the 6.2L.
Mr.X is the man.

It has 3 blade props. I am assuming whatever the stock props are since everything else is stock.

Boat is in good mechanical condition, a little beat up and dirty, but good mechanically.

[LKSD]

were the props spinning outward or inward...


Good question! Depending on the way they are spinning it could affect the boat in many ways like: speed, Handling at speed, handling at docking speed, bow lift etc. Different boats and different hulls respond differently to props spinning inward or outward.. Jamie / Lakeside

[Morgan's Cloud]

Maybe Mr X can shed some light on this experience.
On my first official sea trial on my friend's new 28ZXO / 2x 350 mags
we headed for our old stomping grounds off the 'South Shore" ... about a mile or two out where the water falls off to the first 5000 foot increment .
Was what we would call a calm day , even though I knew when we had to turn around and come back we were going to have to come off plane. When we tried to get back going again towards shore it seemed as though the hull was ventilating before we were even moving and the props were getting way too much air .. We did'nt think we were going to get back up on plane again.
It was very strange and a little disconcerting .. the water is pretty dark out there ..
There was a ground swell of between 6-8 feet with the slight chop on top of it .. quite calm actually .. could that have had anything to do with it ?
btw .. his props were inward swinging ..
Steve

[LKSD]

Matty,
For some reason the 3 blade props usually were stock on the zx's with twin screws. The single engine apps usually had the 4 blades.. I too would prefer the 4 blades on any of them.. They are smoother, have better lift, bite and hold plane better as a rule.. Jamie :) :)

[Mr X]

Morgan,
it sounds like your drives might still have been trimmed in the running position. The 28 ZX is a hard boat to get on plain, once you have cavatated the props at all.
I know once mine cavatates even a tiny bit, I have to throttle all the way back and let the hull settle completely down to idle before I can try to get up on plain again.

Lets not forget that these boats are stepped bottom boats AND super dialed in, with the highest X-dimension possible....that will still allow the boat to plain off.
We spent countless hours getting them dialed in for maximum performance.

These boats are the Ferrari's and Lamgorghini's of the industry......
They require some finesse and some high performance driver skills.

Jamie, The 28 ZX is the ONLY ZX that came with 3 blade props...that also makes plaining more difficult.
We tried every prop combination possible.
The 28ZX is all over the place with 4 blades at WOT

[kswest]

If anyone was following this thread it continues over here: http://www.donzi.net/forums/showthread.php?t=44409

Problem with the other boat was def. the steering, the Donzi's with full hydraulic are nothing like the one I drove last week.

Kyle

[Mr X]

If anyone was following this thread it continues over here: http://www.donzi.net/forums/showthread.php?t=44409
Problem with the other boat was def. the steering, the Donzi's with full hydraulic are nothing like the one I drove last week.
Kyle
:biggrin:

[K5_Guy]

Chiming in,
I was the test driver at the Donzi factory for a few years.
I have driven more 28ZX's than I can count.
Not bragging.....just letting you know my background.
IMHO the 28ZX was the finest and best handling of the ZX fleet
I have NEVER experianced or even heard anyone describe the handling
you were encountering.
Your P.S. answered the mystery for sure.
The ONLY thing that it could be is a defective steering system.
There was a problem with the 1/2 cable 1/2 hydraulic steering.
A few boats had the wrong saginaw steering actuator installed on them.
That is definatly what is wrong with the boat.
Good luck!
P.S. the ZXO is slower......keep that in mind.
Its a fairly easy fix, I had to change out a few of them.


MR. X,

I'm looking at this boat in Florida and was curious about the wrong saginaw actuator. The price is right on the boat and it leaves some tinkering room for the mechanics. how difficult is it to replace the actuator and what would be the estimated materials cost if this is indeed the problem.

Thanks,
Jr

[Z-Man]

I agree with Mr. X. I've got a 28ZX that eats up the rough water and I do not have any control issues even at 55+ in a 3.5-4 foot chop. Ran a heck of a poker run last weekend. I do have full hydraulic steering.

[donzi28zxscorpion]

Hi there Mr X

I have a 28ZX Scorpion package only change was some nice headers and now running 27 3 blades mirage plus . I bought the boat last yr it runs low 80's on gps . The boat came with the props turning inward and ran 80 at 4950 rpm . The boat felt a little loose at speeds over 75 and started chine walking . A good friend of mine who has a lot more experience with high perf boats told me that my props should turn out and that I had to much stern lift. I recently switched props and test ran it it went just as fast and the rpms seemed higher like 5300 with it spinning out. I am looking for the best handing and safest ride at that speed. What is your advise on rotation ect.... I also thought the boat didn't get on plane as good with them spinning out now . The boat seems to like at least a 1/2 to 3/4 tank of fuel also. chine seems less with all the weight . How did the boat come factory with the rotation !! Thanks for any advise





Morgan,
it sounds like your drives might still have been trimmed in the running position. The 28 ZX is a hard boat to get on plain, once you have cavatated the props at all.
I know once mine cavatates even a tiny bit, I have to throttle all the way back and let the hull settle completely down to idle before I can try to get up on plain again.

Lets not forget that these boats are stepped bottom boats AND super dialed in, with the highest X-dimension possible....that will still allow the boat to plain off.
We spent countless hours getting them dialed in for maximum performance.

These boats are the Ferrari's and Lamgorghini's of the industry......
They require some finesse and some high performance driver skills.

Jamie, The 28 ZX is the ONLY ZX that came with 3 blade props...that also makes plaining more difficult.
We tried every prop combination possible.
The 28ZX is all over the place with 4 blades at WOT

[FISHIN SUCKS]

I know Trueser's 28zx Scorpion spins inward, not sure if it came that way or not. My twin 350mag is spinning out and get's up on plane very well. I let two other guys test drive mour boat a month ago at AOTH and they were amazed at the handling and zero cavitation in tight turns. Granted, our top speed is in the low 70's, but we love this boat and it's handling!