possible first donzi

[jmoto]

new to the boating scene so bare with me i will be asking a lot of stupid ques. i'm sure. i am looking at a 1997 22zx 454ci.

1. what are some things i need to look for and ask owner about boat to make sure all maintainence has been done

2. what are some tall tell signs that this boat has not been maintaine

3. and is it stupid to use one of these boats to say pull a tube or ski or any water sports

4. and what do i need to get to pull a water toy? (i know i need a rope but im not sure what apperatice i need to outfit the boat to get the rope back behind the outdrive)

5. as far as routine maintance what needs to be done(fresh water)

like i said i am apoligizing now for the stupid ques. just making sure this is what my wife and i really want and can use
please fill free to call me if you would like to help me more
i would really appreciate it.
thank you very much
jeremy
ph. 972.877.3325

[zimm17]

Do you have any boating experience? How many people to plan to take with you on an outing? How much stuff do you plan to take with you? How fast do you think you want to go?

To be honest the classics are more like having a not-very practical hotrod than a family boat. You should see the look on people's faces when they show up for a day on my boat with a big cooler on wheels and bags of stuff. I hand each person a soft sided 12-pack cooler, one for each corner. That's it.

The classics don't hold much, are a handful to drive for a new person, but are seriously fast, fun, look great, sound awesome and about the only boat that's affordable that still impresses the big offshore crowd at the docks.

So you need to figure out if you need a mini-van, SUV, or 4 seat hotrod of a boat. Then we can go from there.

As far as toy toys go- I have a mountain of skis, wake board, knee board, tubes, etc and I haven't yet towed a thing in 2 years. It's just too much fun to blast around. Then again, I don't have kids...

[jeddski]

The 22ZX's are great handling boats particularly when the water starts to get choppy. You'll find that the ride is very smooth and usually pretty dry. If you're new to boating that type of boat could be a handful, but if you are careful, know your limits, and respect the amount of performance your driving you'll be fine. I'd highly recommend spending some time behind the wheel with someone who has driven these boats a lot.

We once owned a supercharged 454 22ZX and I would never have dreamed of towing behind it. We sold our Donzi skiing boat (Z20) to get the 22ZX. I'm not sure if it was the prop(since it was tuned for 80+mph) on the 22ZX or most likely the hull shape but, the slowest planning speed that the boat felt most comfortable was around 30mph.
We used to tow at the following speeds:
wake boards ~18 - 20mph
skis ~20 - 24mph
slalom ski ~26-28mph

Depending on how you plan on using the boat I'd decide between a 22ZX or possibly a Z20 or Z22. Most of the Z's are bowriders giving you some extra seating up front. The hull is a foot wider than the 22ZX helping it plan at slower speeds, at the cost of top speed and some rough water capability. The Z20's will do around 50mph with a carb'd 5L engine and are very forgiving to drive. You can cut the throttle and the wheel at the top speed and the boat just slides to a stop.

As was already mentioned you need to figure out your use and choose a boat based on that.

[BigGrizzly]

My son has na supercharged 22ZX, he tubes and does all the other stuff too. He has done this when it was stock also. The cabin makes a nice storage and changing room etc. As for stupid questions, there is only one and that is the one you don't ask!!!