found a 1970 16 -- Seattle folks out there?

[shotgunlab]

hi all - so life sure is strange sometimes, was torn up inside about having to pass on DW's 16 after he had so graciously worked with me on a possible deal (thx again John:)).

literally the same day i noticed a 1970 16 near me with the original H+M engine on craigslist.

http://seattle.craigslist.org/sno/boa/948655196.html

a vintage donzi in seattle--wow! I just spoke with the owner and am thinking about heading up (bout 1.5 hours from me) to check it out and take a bunch of pictures.

he says the motor probably would turn over, but needs carb cleaned, timing adjustments, etc. the interior is original and could probably use an upgrade, finish is the original gel, hull is in good shape with one soft spot on the deck. (what is a soft spot excactly and is this something that for sure needs to be taken care of?) what else should i be looking at grabbing pictures of on my initial visit? what would be a 'dealbreaker' if you were looking at this boat? i remember reading something about the old fuel tanks, but i cant remember what excatly...

this would be my first donzi, but have been around boats most my life living in Seattle. I'd be looking to get this boat in shape without breaking the bank--i dont bring in that much per year, and have a 10 mo. old son.

would greatly appreciate your thoughts as to if you feel this is something a donzi newbie like me should be getting involved in.

was also wondering if anybody in the seattle area wants to take a half day trip w/me and help assess the potential work and money involved to get this thing running. i'll buy the lunch and beers of course.

i'm planning on also posting a bunch of pictures to the board to get your opinions as well, then if it's something i'd want to move on i'll have a survey done. (anyone know who "the man" is in seattle for boat surveys?)

thanks in advance for your help out there!

Josh

[cutwater]

Very sharp looking boat. Looks like it's missing all deck and exhaust hardware though, as well as gauges? I'd check before I drove up there.... Good luck.

[shotgunlab]

thx for the reply cutwater, forgot to mention that he said he did have this, need to followup with him to confirm if he indeed has gauges, deck and exhaust hardware.

cheers!

[Donziweasel]

No problem. It is in storage and if you change your mind, you know where I am. Damn, wives, always interfering with our fun.....:bonk:

As for your find, very nice and seems to have a lot of potential. There are several members that really know about those vintage Donzi's. Try contacting Mattyboy, he knows alot about that era 16's.

I will be honest, that boat is going to need some TLC. I am not an expert by any means, but I know that the fuel tank will need to be replaced, if it has not already been. That mean a deck separation. While it is off, take care of the coring and soft spot, it can get worse, much worse. There are other things you will need to look at as well. 3000.00 seems a little high for the shape, offer him 1500.00 and see what he says.

Shotgun, by the time you are done with it, I think you might be wishing you had purchased mine.........:bonk: It is a nice boat and I hope you restore it.

[Lenny]

I'd be spooked a bit by the new paint, the loss of hardware, the tank is probably shot, (meaning deck comes off) the "soft spot" refers to the Balsa coring being wet and basically gone.

I would prefer getting an original one that didn't have all these upgrades and take that part on yourself.

Be careful, for a 1970 and NO louvered transom/deck plate seems odd (holes filled in ???) and the fact that there was a Company, more than one actually, that splashed these boats in the early seventies from "our" local area...

[jl1962]

Looks way too rough. Pass.

Buy Mdiggs (see thread) for not a whole lot more (the older boats are cool)and this one may be quite nice, or DW's if you want a new one, or the 7k X-18 that just ended on eBay.

JL

[Donziweasel]

Looks way too rough. Pass.

Probably good advice. Don't think you will buy this boat and be on the water next summer, or the summer after, or the summer after........:wink:

[Donzi Vol]

shotgun, it basically comes down to what you want as an end product. If you want a boat that looks like it just rolled off the showroom floor, be prepared to do what it takes to get it there. But if you're cool with having a nice looking Donzi that is fun for a day on the lake, then you shouldn't have to do a heck of a lot to get it there. This post may have very well given you no help as there are no dollar amounts or great insight, but just something to think about.

All the best

[HOWARD O]

I am going to agree with the others on this one. My brother and I restored my 1969 16' in the '90's. It was a completely freshwater boat, had all the H-M hardware intact and in nice shape, everything original was there and in good shape. It had been poorly repainted once and and in need of a GOOD paintjob, the deck hardware was dulled out and he had that refinished. I bet he had 10 grand into the restoration on a nice boat to begin with. He foot the bill and he still has it and uses it frequently, it's a drop-dead gorgeous boat. I'd have to say that it was in much nicer shape than this one when I originally bought it.

I would advise you to find the very nicest one you can afford that needs little work. Otherwise, it's a labor of love, money and LOTS of time. I think we finished ours in 3 years. As much as I'd like to see one get "saved", save yourself some grief! :bonk: It's an amazingly LARGE can of worms!

Oh, I forgot to add........neither my brother or I would do it again! Well, maybe I would if I already had a nice Donzi to use during the long restoration.

[Magicallbill]

Haven't been on for awhile..Happy Holiday Season to all..

My son Jason and I had 2 16's restored completely. A 66 and a 67.

They cost an arm and a leg, but we spared no expense. We put them back as close to original as possible. Both boats needed new stringers, engines, the works. The more we dove into them the worse things got..We just decided to start over.
We have over 60K in both of them.. It took 3 years for my 67, 4 years for Jason's 66.
It depends how "perfect" you want a restoration project to be. No matter what, it'll cost more than you think, and take longer than you think. Just like building a house.(Which I had done too.)
I have also been told that the resale value of these things are not great. I guess I wouldn't get near out of my 67 what I have in it, although I have loved Donzi's all my life and did not do it for money. I plan on keeping the boat indefinitely, and from the resale numbers I've heard tossed around it's a good thing.

[Lenny]

PERSONALLY "I" would buy Johns' 16 (Donziweasel) for a fair $$$$$. It has 350 HP, and would be a RIOT at sea-level. :yes: Well cared for. Wyoming is not far for you to drive, or even meet him half way. I have done that run too many times from North of you. Leave about noon today and you should be back for dinner tommorrow. :D

http://www.mapquest.com/maps?1c=Seattle&1s=WA&2c=Jackson+Hole&2s=WY

[Conquistador_del_mar]

Since I have restored many boats and quite a few cars, I thought I would throw out some thoughts. Money wise, I have concluded that you are almost always better off to find a boat or car that is already restored as long as it is just what you want. Otherwise, as long as you can do almost all the restoration work, you can make it exactly like you want for almost the same amount of money as buying the restored one. Magicallbill's restorations and resulting investment is typical of using professional services for the restoration. These scenarios are only pertinent if you want a nearly perfect boat - otherwise you can have a nice running, but not "perfect" boat for much less. Here are two examples of my stuff. If you have followed my thread on the 1971 18' Donzi that I am restoring, I will have about $12,000 in the boat when I am done, which is about $8000 more than the purchase price of $4250. That is with me doing all the work except the upholstering. I doubt that it would bring much more than that when I am done. In my case, this was my old boat that I first bought in 1973 so I was willing to bring it back to its glory days for my personal satisfaction and use. I am like Magicallbill, I don't ever plan to sell it again after buying it back earlier this year. My other example is on the other side of the coin. 3 years ago, I bought a replica 1965 AC Shelby Cobra 427SC from a man who built it exactly like I would have built one. He had to sell it with only 1100 miles of use due to medical issues. He sold it to me for about $6000+ less than what it cost him to build it - forget his time involved.
My point is that if you want a nearly perfect early Donzi (or any other year Donzi), you are probably better in the long run to find one already restored than to think you can restore one for very little - it just doesn't work out that way even if you do all the work. It really all depends on how perfect you want the boat to be when you start to use it as some others have mentioned. Good luck either way you go. Bill

[gold-n-rod]

Here's another perspective. How do you plan to use the boat?

Let's take an automotive example. Let's say you love Mustangs and have always wanted one. You'd like to be able to hop in it at a minute's notice and drive out to the shore with your family to see the sun go down and get an ice cream cone. Or, you'd like to take it on a 400 mile trip and relive your original honeymoon trip.

You could:

a. buy an old, restored Mustang for, say..... $20K. This is a silly wild-a$$ed guess for discussion sake. Or,

b. you could buy a late-model Mustang for the same amount.

One is carbureted, has points and a condenser. Will it always start? It's not fun to have the family in the car, ready for a ride, waiting for you to get the jumper cables hooked up. Plus, when you get to the ice cream shop, will it start back up? Oh, and what if that vapor lock rears its ugly head again? Plus, although restored, some of those parts underneath are 40 years old. Will a NAPA store in the middle of nowhere have them on the shelf if you need something?

The newer Mustang still evokes the fun and style of the old (debatable by some, I know). It's reliable, less likely to break down in the middle of nowhere and parts are available. You can have a lot of fun with it, just like with the original. Sure, you'll not get into many old car shows, but that's not what you were looking to do.

So, if you love Mustangs and want to have fun, you have options.

Apply this to a discussion about a $10K Donzi. I think you can draw similar conclusions.

[shotgunlab]

thanks so much everyone for your thoughtful comments--really appreciate it. It's very clear that the right way for me to go is a newer 16 instead of a project.

DW - I'm still in love with your boat! I wish I could commit right now and send you a down payment, but I have to do right by my family first and foremost--have some cc debit to pay off & a kitchen remodel to do then it's donzi time! :cool!:

toally understand if you find a buyer and sell, but I daydream that it'll be around when i'm ready as it's exactly what i'm looking for, close to the Northwest, and in my price range.

cheers,

Josh

[fogducker III]

thanks so much everyone for your thoughtful comments--really appreciate it. It's very clear that the right way for me to go is a newer 16 instead of a project.

DW - I'm still in love with your boat! I wish I could commit right now and send you a down payment, but I have to do right by my family first and foremost--have some cc debit to pay off & a kitchen remodel to do then it's donzi time! :cool!:

toally understand if you find a buyer and sell, but I daydream that it'll be around when i'm ready as it's exactly what i'm looking for, close to the Northwest, and in my price range.

cheers,

Josh

I am sure John would let you "rent to own"............you could even store it at my place beside John's other boat.......:rolleyes:

Seriously though, I have met John and his lovely wife and can tell that every one of his 'toys' will be in top shape..........

[iznod33]

Josh,

I work on Camano every day. I would be happy to go with you or wouldn't mind swing by and checking it out for you. Not interested in the boat so you don't have to worry about losing it. I would however, have to agree with the other comments about the probable condition of the boat and amount of work it will take to get into running condition. There is however a great fealing and sence of pride when you complete a project like that. 3 years for me and almost done:bonk::nilly:

Craig

[Conquistador_del_mar]

Josh,

I work on Camano every day. I would be happy to go with you or wouldn't mind swing by and checking it out for you. Not interested in the boat so you don't have to worry about losing it. I would however, have to agree with the other comments about the probable condition of the boat and amount of work it will take to get into running condition. There is however a great fealing and sence of pride when you complete a project like that. 3 years for me and almost done:bonk::nilly:

Craig

This is true. There is no greater sense of satisfaction than driving a boat or car that you restored. When people come up to talk to you about how great it looks or runs, it makes it all seem worthwhile when you can say "I did it". Bill

[zelatore]

This is true. There is no greater sense of satisfaction than driving a boat or car that you restored. When people come up to talk to you about how great it looks or runs, it makes it all seem worthwhile when you can say "I did it". Bill

:yes::yes::yes: