Four Winns U-17 , with Mercury Fury prop video

[syclone01]

I know this is a donzi forum, I'm looking at finding an outboard donzi. This is my old boat a 96 U-17 stock with the 5.0 fi ford motor with 220hp, single volvo sx drive. This fury prop gives it a lot of bow lift, more than any other of the 20 something props this boat has seen on it. The fury prop runs 65gps, boat is stock. The next best prop was an attwood ballistic, right at 64gps. If any of you are maybe looking at getting some more bow lift maybe the new Fury prop might be something to look into. The u-17 starts getting a little chine in it around 62-63, but with practice you can steer to counteract it, sorta like riding a bike, you get used to it. Some props more or less.

http://s201.photobucket.com/albums/aa105/kenuwf/?action=view&current=ef2b758c.pbr

[VetteLT193]

you were almost flying. Looks good:wink:

[gold-n-rod]

The u-17 starts getting a little chine in it around 62-63, but with practice you can steer to counteract it, sorta like riding a bike, you get used to it.

Four Winns got some seriously bad PR regarding the U17 and chine walk. Soon afterward, the U Boat line went bye-bye. :bonk:

[syclone01]

yeah, i heard that. they are still fast, fun. It's all about that right?

[Just Say N20]

Very interesting. I'll be curious to hear observations from Big Griz.

To me, it looks like a great set up. It seems to have achieved that magical combination of great bow lift with out running at a 25 degree bow high angle, and good transom lift, where the boat is running with very little wetted surface.

[HOWARD O]

Impressive! :yes:

[mattyboy]

Four Winns got some seriously bad PR regarding the U17 and chine walk. Soon afterward, the U Boat line went bye-bye. :bonk:

as well as omc a short time after

not sure what this has to do with Donzi performance as the bottom on the u17 is different from any classic especially the 16. these hulls were made in an attempt to compete with the classics after omc had sold donzi to AMH so they are a splash with some tinkering

this will be a fine thread once it is moved to were it belongs


they do run fast and loose

[Donziweasel]

Alright, 1. both 16's and U-17 chine walk. 2. I always kinda liked the U-boats. They are not Donzi's, but seem to be the closest thing to one without being a direct splash. Kinda a contemporary version. 3. Boat looks good on the video. Aired out nicely, seems very fast, and minor chine walk, seemed to handle those rollers pretty nice.

I still prefer Donzi's, but I still like em'

What engine, 350?

Matty, don't bust his chops too bad, he is looking at my buying my 6.2L for it.:wink:

[mattyboy]

think the video is great and the boat runs well it just gets harder to search for donzi performance stuff and donzi info when things aren't posted in the right sections :)

[Donziweasel]

I agree.:)

[mattyboy]

thank you moderators ;)

now we can talk away on this setup and I would like to hear what people think of setup on these boats I am looking but i think they are a 22 or 21 degree deadrise with a rounded keel and full length inner lifting strakes. is that why they are so fast and loose with the tendancy to chine walk bad

i have seen a few with a duo prop that ran well and I sorta like the the funky seats ;)

[Ken2]

thank you moderators ;)

now we can talk away on this setup and I would like to hear what people think of setup on these boats I am looking but i think they are a 22 or 21 degree deadrise with a rounded keel and full length inner lifting strakes. is that why they are so fast and loose with the tendancy to chine walk bad

i have seen a few with a duo prop that ran well and I sorta like the the funky seats ;)

I will take any pictures or anything you want of this rig.

It does chinewalk. 59mph its solid as a rock, but when your crack 60, its kinda squirrely.

It does have a rounded keel. and it does chinewalk.
It has a 24 degree deadrise. The chop in the first clip, (which doesn't look like much in the video) Had water coming over the bow, and into my lap as I was idling. But once on top, it handled halfway decent.
From what I've heard, the Donzi 16 and 18 handles great as well for its size.
Ironically, I'm in Donzi country (sarasota) and I've only seen 1 or 2 16's or 18's around here.
I love the boats, they are awsome.

What are your thoughts on 16 vs 18. Is the 16 hard to handle or not?

[mattyboy]

take pictures of the transom especially the keel

[Ken2]

http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa105/kenuwf/DSCF1230.jpg

http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa105/kenuwf/DSCF1229.jpg

[mattyboy]

good shots here is the 16 ass end wonder what the effect is of the close strakes and the hard reversed chine on the u boat seems like alot of lift plus the rounded keel is very sharp or narrow on the u boat were the 16 looks more rounded and wider

[Ken2]

just looking at it quickly. The Donzi only has one lifting strake. The U-17 has two
That could be one difference.

The U-17 does not porpoise at all. you can shove the bow into the waves if you like. I don't have tabs

[mattyboy]

have you measured the deadrise?? it still looks a little shallow to me more like a challenger or superboat 21. the donzi has 2 strakes but the inner one stops 3 or so feet from the transom the u 17 has it all the way to the transom which must give it alot of stern lift which would make it easy to stick the bow down which will lead to other problems, plus the radius of the keel is like a folcum in a see saw, and the reverse chine is very aggressive anyone know if the reversed chine on the 22 is that pronounced.


here's how i see it when under way and giving her the throttle as the speed picks up and the boat gets up ontop the boat can't balance on the sharper radius and prop torque leans it to one side.Now that side falls back into the water and depending on how far 2 lifting strakes and if far enough the reverse chine acting as a third strake now hit the water giving enough lift to push the boat over to the other side where the whole cycle repeats.


I think the u 19 didn't have the full length inner strakes or in the second year they modified the hull to remove them to help the problem not sure blackhawk here had one that ran very well maybe he can chime in

here's an article i found
interesting take on the tabs don't let fogducker or silverback find out ;)

http://www.powerboatmag.com/change-up-when-to-spend-money-on-improvements.html

[Ken2]

I've read that articule on the tabs being mounted level instead of with the hull.
The specs on the boat say it has 24 degree, But I've never actually measured the deadrise.

I had always thought the donzi keel was just a V, I didn't think it was rounded like the picture of the one on the lift.

[mattyboy]

the only true 24 degree V classics were the first 18's and the 14 they also had the full length inner strakes then they went to the rounded keel sometime in 1968 or so on the 18

[Ken2]

Ok, I just went and measured it.
I just put a piece of paper on there and measured the lengths of a right triangle.
I came up with 23.13 deadrise.
Although thats probably not the most accurate way to do it.

[mike o]

Great thread here. Ive only seen one U17 over my way, being fueled up while towing. Was getting put-in some place in the NH Lakes Region.:cool!:

[mattyboy]

here is a shot of a true 24 degree sharp keeled deep vee this is a 1968 18 2+3 barrelback owned by CDMA

note the full length inner strake

[fogducker III]

have you measured the deadrise?? it still looks a little shallow to me more like a challenger or superboat 21. the donzi has 2 strakes but the inner one stops 3 or so feet from the transom the u 17 has it all the way to the transom which must give it alot of stern lift which would make it easy to stick the bow down which will lead to other problems, plus the radius of the keel is like a folcum in a see saw, and the reverse chine is very aggressive anyone know if the reversed chine on the 22 is that pronounced.


here's how i see it when under way and giving her the throttle as the speed picks up and the boat gets up ontop the boat can't balance on the sharper radius and prop torque leans it to one side.Now that side falls back into the water and depending on how far 2 lifting strakes and if far enough the reverse chine acting as a third strake now hit the water giving enough lift to push the boat over to the other side where the whole cycle repeats.


I think the u 19 didn't have the full length inner strakes or in the second year they modified the hull to remove them to help the problem not sure blackhawk here had one that ran very well maybe he can chime in

here's an article i found
interesting take on the tabs don't let fogducker or silverback find out ;)

http://www.powerboatmag.com/change-up-when-to-spend-money-on-improvements.html


Damn, now I am really confused..............:eek::wink:

[mattyboy]

Fog,
i would continue with your testing really the only way to know

[fogducker III]

Fog,
i would continue with your testing really the only way to know

I know, just making sure you know I saw your post...........:wink:

To stick with this thread, there was a local Four Winns sales guy here with a yellow U17, not 100% what he had in it but it sounded nice and ran well, I spoke to him a few times and he was the first to admit it got VERY loose at the top end.......

[Ken2]

The Yellow U-17 was a 1997.

In 97 they had Chevy power.
either the 4.3 carb or FI
Or the 350 carb

[Donziweasel]

here's how i see it when under way and giving her the throttle as the speed picks up and the boat gets up ontop the boat can't balance on the sharper radius and prop torque leans it to one side.Now that side falls back into the water and depending on how far 2 lifting strakes and if far enough the reverse chine acting as a third strake now hit the water giving enough lift to push the boat over to the other side where the whole cycle repeats.

I would think tabs would be VERY helpful if this is the situation. Drop a little tab on the opposite side of the initial lean to keep it from going over due to prop torque. If that doesn't work, drop both tabs a little and see if it calms it down like my 16.

[mattyboy]

DW,
I would agree , that is what works for rh props on lh helm sharp keeled boats.
the thing that worries me is the stern lift provided by the strakes on these u17 boats combined with tab usage would multiply that stern lift and could lead to bow steering or even worse.
tabs would surely shorten the side to side cycle . I would imagine if you could get the tabs as wide as possible and parrelel to the water line so only the tips would touch then they would not add to much to stern lift and should control the chine walk

[smokediver]

the U boats has no hull rocker like the 16 .. another difference ...

[mattyboy]

smoke
good point it doesn't look to have hook either,

[Ken2]

You got me curious so I looked for a hook with a straight edge.

It does have a slight hook on the oustides. Between the ouside chine and the side of the boat.
Maybe 3/8 of an inch

Between the chines there is no hook.

[mattyboy]

what about rocker( which is the inverse of hook) between the strakes and between the inner strake and the keel??

[Ken2]

doesn't appear to have rocker.
Its perfectly straight between the strakes.

Just the hook on the outside and thats it.

[mattyboy]

that would also lead to being able to bury the nose rocker enables bow lift

[Ken2]

I actually like to be able to trim down and hold the bow down in rough water or when I have to drive at slow speeds.
It will stay on plane at fairly slow speeds with no porpoising, but it likes to run at least 35mph

[syclone01]

I've never seen you run 35!! You use a boat like it should be used....2-3 times a week and run the shi% out of it...you're getting your moneys worth. You getting the beach spot for the boatraces this year i hope?

[Ken2]

I finished my exhaust project.
aluminum manifolds and risers (110/120 lbs lighter and larger ports)
Only ran the boat once so far.

With a buddy and a cooler in the boat we got 65.4 mph with 15 gal of fuel.
I think with just me and a low fuel, I may be flirting with 67.

Exhaust was a pain in the butt to get on though. Had to have a machine shop build a 5/8 spacer so it would clear the plenum.
http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa105/kenuwf/exhaust.jpg

Now I need to clean the boat up. I got grease and crap everywhere while working on it.
http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa105/kenuwf/302.jpg

[fast fun 2]

have you measured the deadrise?? it still looks a little shallow to me more like a challenger or superboat 21. the donzi has 2 strakes but the inner one stops 3 or so feet from the transom the u 17 has it all the way to the transom which must give it alot of stern lift which would make it easy to stick the bow down which will lead to other problems, plus the radius of the keel is like a folcum in a see saw, and the reverse chine is very aggressive anyone know if the reversed chine on the 22 is that pronounced.


here's how i see it when under way and giving her the throttle as the speed picks up and the boat gets up ontop the boat can't balance on the sharper radius and prop torque leans it to one side.Now that side falls back into the water and depending on how far 2 lifting strakes and if far enough the reverse chine acting as a third strake now hit the water giving enough lift to push the boat over to the other side where the whole cycle repeats.


I think the u 19 didn't have the full length inner strakes or in the second year they modified the hull to remove them to help the problem not sure blackhawk here had one that ran very well maybe he can chime in

here's an article i found
interesting take on the tabs don't let fogducker or silverback find out ;)

http://www.powerboatmag.com/change-up-when-to-spend-money-on-improvements.html
Sorry to just dive in, but th deadrise on challenges n superboats is 22*.

[markiemark]

HEy ken hope you still read this, wondering what pitch props you ran with the attwood and fury?