Picture from Tavares at Lake Dora today

[Cuda]

I wasted most of the morning, trying to decide whether to ride my bike or not to Tavares. The weather looked iffy. I finally decided at 1pm, to take my truck, and head to Tavares. I called Tom (Donzi Racer) to see what was up. He said, "I'm having the time of my life!" :) I believe he won his heat, but I'm not sure. Unfortunately, it started raining about the time I found the park. I knew this had to be Buizilla's coach, because you don't see pristine Critters everyday. I knocked on the door, and Tidbart anwered it. The canceled the rest of the races shortly after I got there. Jim, Bob, and I, sat in his coach most of the afternoon, and solved all the world's problems. :) It just showered off and on, mostly off, after they canceled the races. I headed home about 7. It's absolutely pouring outside right this minute, here in Deland (about 30 miles away), and I was going to head out to terrorize the female population in Volusia County. I'm probably headed to St Cloud tomorrow, for the SBI races, although I heard only 8 boats showed up. Compare that to the number of JSS that were at these races. Like Jim pointed out, there's no reason we can't generate as much interest with our Donzis, as they do with the JSS. He, Bob, and I, talked about moving our anual Mt Dora meet, to coincide with this weekend, instead of the wooden boat show.

Anyway, here's the pictures from today.

[Cuda]

And a final picture of Tidbart doing his "gopher smile" or whatever they call it.:biggrin.:

[BigGrizzly]

Thanks for the pictures! Bright spot in a dull day.

[DONZI]

Great shot's Cuda !
Too bad you guy's are getting rained on,but at least ya can walk around with short's and tee's on.:)

Great hat Tidbart !

[tom freeman]

I wasted most of the morning, trying to decide whether to ride my bike or not to Tavares. The weather looked iffy. I finally decided at 1pm, to take my truck, and head to Tavares. I called Tom (Donzi Racer) to see what was up. He said, "I'm having the time of my life!" :) I believe he won his heat, but I'm not sure. Unfortunately, it started raining about the time I found the park. I knew this had to be Buizilla's coach, because you don't see pristine Critters everyday. I knocked on the door, and Tidbart anwered it. The canceled the rest of the races shortly after I got there. Jim, Bob, and I, sat in his coach most of the afternoon, and solved all the world's problems. :) It just showered off and on, mostly off, after they canceled the races. I headed home about 7. It's absolutely pouring outside right this minute, here in Deland (about 30 miles away), and I was going to head out to terrorize the female population in Volusia County. I'm probably headed to St Cloud tomorrow, for the SBI races, although I heard only 8 boats showed up. Compare that to the number of JSS that were at these races. Like Jim pointed out, there's no reason we can't generate as much interest with our Donzis, as they do with the JSS. He, Bob, and I, talked about moving our anual Mt Dora meet, to coincide with this weekend, instead of the wooden boat show.

Anyway, here's the pictures from today.

the DONZI with the wood deck is unreal.

[Cuda]

I was coming back from the SBI races today in St Cloud, when I saw this boat turn off Hwy 44, onto Hwy 17. I'm pretty sure that's a boat I got a picture of. He hauled all the way from New York.:eek!:

[Cuda]

Great shot's Cuda !
Too bad you guy's are getting rained on,but at least ya can walk around with short's and tee's on.:)
Great hat Tidbart !
I saw 89 degreees on the thermometer in my truck, on the way there.

I though about cropping that hat out of the picture.:smash:

[BUIZILLA]

the first pic of Cuda's is a brandy new Lauterbach hull with a 540 Chevy, the owner, Chris Hall, is in the second pic, he owns Bluewater Yacht Sales... www.bluewateryachtsales.com , LARGE multiple location Viking/Regulator dealer... he had it built for good $$$ (i'm not telling) to remember the Lauterbach his dad used to race in the 7 litre series... this boat has two seats though, it is a true spectacle work of art and craftsmanship, the trailer is full hydraulic tilt for towing, he showed up in a $2mil Liberty Prevost,, he parks the coach in the same facility my brother does it seems.. Saturday was first day in the water for this hydro... he left real early this morning at daybreak due to a serious root canal infection and was headed for a hospital or doctor in Stuart, or I would have bent his ear some more... nice, classy, down to earth, straight up guy...

hopefully Bob will post my favorite clamp on boat... I met the current builder, and we talked for a LONG time... it's a Raveau, with a one_of_a_handfull Merc power

i'm going to shorten my personal event review, as i'm really, really pissed right now about a couple things that happened to me there... I spent some time early this morning walking around again without crowds checking things out more for us, I now believe this CRBA may not be the right venue to support... to sum up, I never got the boat wet despite working my ass off upside down fixing an issue, and then asking the head pit honcho 5 times yesterday to send the tractor(s) to launch me, and repeatedly pointing out EXACTLY where it was, he forgot he said, to far from the ramp to see, I reminded him today I was 30 feet behind Chris Hall's boat and he didn't have any problem finding it, so we talked about it this morning... rather strongly... the ramp at Wooten is pathetic, a 4wd Suburban couldn't launch me on Friday...

I must have heard it announced 15 times *this is NOT a race*

so why are we REQUIRED to wear a helmet, if it's not a race??

and there's more...

I digress...

[Jraysray]

the DONZI with the wood deck is unreal.

No Joke!!! That is one bad mamba jamba! Had the boat out today. Jeffe and Mr and Mrs JimG floated up and shot the crap for a few.

Great day down here in the Lone Star State! Time to shake off that winter fluff and burn some fuel!!!!

[Barry Eller]

the DONZI with the wood deck is unreal.

What router bit do I need to prepare the deck of Yippy to install the wood planking?:boggled:

[gcarter]

the ramp at Wooten is pathetic, a 4wd Suburban couldn't launch me on Friday...
As bad as it may be (and it was just built), it's a whole lot better than it was.

[Cuda]

As bad as it may be (and it was just built), it's a whole lot better than it was.
Like I said yesterday, it had to be the same guy that designed the ramp on 441 for Lake Eustis. A real Mensa candidate. He probably also designs parking lots that takes you an hour to figure out how to leave it.:mad:

[Donzi Racer]

the first pic of Cuda's is a brandy new Lauterbach hull with a 540 Chevy, the owner, Chris Hall, is in the second pic, he owns Bluewater Yacht Sales... www.bluewateryachtsales.com (http://www.bluewateryachtsales.com) , LARGE multiple location Viking/Regulator dealer... he had it built for good $$$ (i'm not telling) to remember the Lauterbach his dad used to race in the 7 litre series... this boat has two seats though, it is a true spectacle work of art and craftsmanship, the trailer is full hydraulic tilt for towing, he showed up in a $2mil Liberty Prevost,, he parks the coach in the same facility my brother does it seems.. Saturday was first day in the water for this hydro... he left real early this morning at daybreak due to a serious root canal infection and was headed for a hospital or doctor in Stuart, or I would have bent his ear some more... nice, classy, down to earth, straight up guy...

hopefully Bob will post my favorite clamp on boat... I met the current builder, and we talked for a LONG time... it's a Raveau, with a one_of_a_handfull Merc power

i'm going to shorten my personal event review, as i'm really, really pissed right now about a couple things that happened to me there... I spent some time early this morning walking around again without crowds checking things out more for us, I now believe this CRBA may not be the right venue to support... to sum up, I never got the boat wet despite working my ass off upside down fixing an issue, and then asking the head pit honcho 5 times yesterday to send the tractor(s) to launch me, and repeatedly pointing out EXACTLY where it was, he forgot he said, to far from the ramp to see, I reminded him today I was 30 feet behind Chris Hall's boat and he didn't have any problem finding it, so we talked about it this morning... rather strongly... the ramp at Wooten is pathetic, a 4wd Suburban couldn't launch me on Friday...

I must have heard it announced 15 times *this is NOT a race*

so why are we REQUIRED to wear a helmet, if it's not a race??

and there's more...

I digress...

I hope I did not offend anyone this weekend but I had my head was in the clouds. I did not know you were having problems Jim, getting your boat wet. We could have pulled it around to the dora ramp and had it back over in about 10 minutes. That is where I put in. I kept waiting to see it run. I looked you up once to see where you were and you had the boat and the scooter packed up and I went to the docks looking for you and the next thing I know I see you pulling out. Sorry I missed you.
Bob where ever you are, thanks for getting me ready for the 1st Donzi Heat and yes we did pretty well. Closest boat was a 18 classic with a 350 cu in merc with a SS drive and a few goodies. He was 1/2 a lap back and thought we had a big block in the 22. She was perking pretty well ran a top speed of 64.5 mph in some pretty rough water for a smooth lake and since we beat the boat that won todays race against a 502 classic 22 we felt pretty good. We came in dead last today in our 16 baby but Jim had me driving real conservatively in it, thanks Jim, although I did blow my helmet off in between turn 1 and turn 2, about 1/2 way thru the race. Not an easy trick going from the infield to the middle of a turn to get your soaked helmet with 4 or 5 Donzi's bearing down on you, but I was scared to leave it out there just knowing someone would hit it and ruin an outdrive. We are staying in the area for a few extra days in case any one wants to take a Donzi ride. Call Tom at 256-777-0844 or Rose at 256-777-7766

[Pismo]

Any more details on the wood deck Donzi? So nice.

[Tidbart]

hopefully Bob will post my favorite clamp on boat... I met the current builder, and we talked for a LONG time... it's a Raveau, with a one_of_a_handfull Merc power


Here you go Jim. Thought I took more photos, was too busy looking, apparently.

Will post more photos after I resize them.:hangum:

B

[MR MAGOO]

Yes, it's a very cool boat! Rigged by John Coen at the Superboat shop in Long Island. I was at the Mt Dora boat show the weekend before last. Lotsa real nice stuff!

[BUIZILLA]

thanx Bob... i've had my daily fix :cool:

wow.... just WOW

the build quality of this 2006 boat has to be seen to be believed.. right down to the Latham offshore steering, built in GPS, joystick hyd. jackplate, factory CLE lower on a one year only 2004 Special Edition 200, 20* blueprinted bottom, double trimdicators, no tabs, left foot pedal in-out trim and right pedal throttle, 50 gal. bow tank, impeccable jointwork, stitch pleated upholstery...

did I also mention the trio of 1200 hp blown fuel flat bottom and hydro drag boats??

[BUIZILLA]

Kurt, your picture is of a 16...

Bob's picture is of a 20'.....

[Craig S]

Any more details on the wood deck Donzi? So nice.

I'm curious how it ran...351 Ford with fuel injection, right?

And the Reveau outboard above looked great in motion. Is that an SRT-10 6 speed Dodge Ram??? The wheels and spoiler look like it. And the color.

[Cuda]

Yes, it's a very cool boat! Rigged by John Coen at the Superboat shop in Long Island. I was at the Mt Dora boat show the weekend before last. Lotsa real nice stuff!
Kurt, were you in Dora last weekend? Just today, I was looking up somebody's phone number on my cell, and I saw I still have yours. :)

[JeffH]

Very cool boats! I was noticing the white/red 18 or 22 c had wind deflectors mounted on the front rails. Does any one know where I can get a pair of those?

JH

[MR MAGOO]

Kurt, were you in Dora last weekend? Just today, I was looking up somebody's phone number on my cell, and I saw I still have yours. :)


Yup, we ran the St Pete poker run on Saturday and Sunday I went to the antique boat show. Also went to Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing. Man, what a weekend!!!

It was my firt time attending the boat show. I'll be there next year for sure! I'll look you up.

Kurt

[rustnrot]

I wanted to go up against DonziRacer with my Formula but had the flu or whatever all weekend. I did see Jim briefly before I pulled out Sunday to come back to GA, still recovering as I type this.

These CRA events are a work in progress. They need more staff, for sure Mike Yobe, Pit Boss needs an assistant, give them some time to get better.

This is second annual and we just this time got the race course pretty well finalized on GPS. I was well enough on Friday to operate the laptop on Mike's Chris Craft, "Top Cat" that was dropping course markers.

Whether a "race" or not, insurance regulations require a helmet. I bought an orange motorcycle half helmet. Although NOT required I also got a Lifeline jacket (certification NOT required).

Mike Yobe built the mahogany decked Donzi it was sold last year new owner has a brand new Pleasure Craft 351 FI engine in it, they have not GPS'd it yet. Thread of build is here:

http://www.donzi.net/forums/showthread.php?t=43258

[Cuda]

Yup, we ran the St Pete poker run on Saturday and Sunday I went to the antique boat show. Also went to Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing. Man, what a weekend!!!
It was my firt time attending the boat show. I'll be there next year for sure! I'll look you up.
Kurt
I only live a half hour from Mt Dora. I lived in St Pete for 33 years. Did plenty of poker run stops at the Vinoy.

[BUIZILLA]

These CRA events are a work in progress. They need more staff, for sure Mike Yobe, Pit Boss needs an assistant, give them some time to get better. welp, it cost me about $500 in diesel fuel, $140 event fee's, $82 in toll's, 625 miles, 3 wasted days, a broken $1200 awning due to a storm, and I never got the boat wet one time, despite asking 5 times.... the killer was they charged me another $100 to park in a dirt lot, when a bunch of spectators and half a dozen skiffer's parked or camped all around me for FREE... they were supposed to pay one way tow money, and that also evaporated when I got there.. they owe me some money.. Dick White was a gracious host however, he really tried to help me...

[Tidbart]

Here are some of the photos of the show and races.

Bob

[Tidbart]

and some more......

[Cuda]

Just the skiffs alone had twice the turnout of all the SBI classes at St Cloud the same weekend.

[JeffH]

Sorry to hijack the conversation, but does anyone know who owns the (looks like an 18c) white/red donzi with the flags painted on the front?

I would like some of those wind deflectors!

[Tidbart]

Sorry to hijack the conversation, but does anyone know who owns the (looks like an 18c) white/red donzi with the flags painted on the front?

I would like some of those wind deflectors!

Met him, (yellow hat) don't remember his name. Boat is for sale, though.:doh:
Bob

[Tidbart]

[quote=MadPoodle;445084]You remember his hat, but not his name.... :nilly: :nilly:quote]


I had a photo to go by......:doh::wink:

[JeffH]

Thanks,

I'm getting tired of turning my head sideways to hear the music of the 350!

[Donzi Racer]

I wanted to go up against DonziRacer with my Formula but had the flu or whatever all weekend. I did see Jim briefly before I pulled out Sunday to come back to GA, still recovering as I type this.

These CRA events are a work in progress. They need more staff, for sure Mike Yobe, Pit Boss needs an assistant, give them some time to get better.

This is second annual and we just this time got the race course pretty well finalized on GPS. I was well enough on Friday to operate the laptop on Mike's Chris Craft, "Top Cat" that was dropping course markers.

Whether a "race" or not, insurance regulations require a helmet. I bought an orange motorcycle half helmet. Although NOT required I also got a Lifeline jacket (certification NOT required).

Mike Yobe built the mahogany decked Donzi it was sold last year new owner has a brand new Pleasure Craft 351 FI engine in it, they have not GPS'd it yet. Thread of build is here:

http://www.donzi.net/forums/showthread.php?t=43258

Tom, we had a blast and would have liked for you to have felt better and splashed your Jr. It would have been the only chance I would have had to come in anything other than dead last in the 2nd Donzi heat. Now we did win the 1st heat in our newly aquired 22 classic with the small block. Beat out the mahogony 16 Donzi, a souped up classic 18 that beat all the other Donzis the next day even a 502 22 classic, and a few more smaller donzis. We were very pleased with the performance of the small block in the 22. I really like this setup. Handles great and ran it daily for 9 days on 48 gals of fuel. Not bad, not bad at all! I am Donzi Happy and Crazy. Getting the barrel back tomorrow. I hope to splash it tomorrow. Going to go for 80 mph in a 42 year old boat with a small block in it. Will let you know with pics tomorrow. Yee Hi! Tom