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silverghost
08-14-2009, 12:08 AM
In the late 60s-early 70s several of my extended family members had two now rare "Oddball Drive" Donzis!
The first, and my favorite, was a 18 "Classic" Berkley/ Olds 455 powered waterjet 18 Donzi my uncle owned.
This boat was a real blast to drive! If you have never rode or driven in a Donzi Jet you have not lived ! The turns that you were able to do with this jet were unbelievable ! It would turn in less than a boat-length at very high speeds without any risk of flipping ! The Berkeley jet pump's suction action would hold the boat very steady during these turns.
It was like a Sea Doo on Steroids! And that great big rooster tail~WOW!
Ony three problems that I ever encountered.
1) It would suck-up everything on the bottom at 2 feet or less. Rocks, shells, sand etc..
We went through quite few pump turbine impellors & rings!
2) Low & high speed gas usage was terrible...Yet we were then talking less than .50 cent/gallon fuel prices~ so who really cared !?
3) The jet pump was not good on rough waater, or wakes, as pump would suck-in Air and the big Olds over revv as a result.
This was a real issue in Ocean City NJ Great Egg Harbor Bay.
especially with lots of weekend boat traffic!
You had to keep a fast hand on the big Olds 455 throttle if the pump became un-hooked ; or risk over-revving the engine & throwing a rod or blowing it apart ! Remember this is before the age of electronic ignition rev limiters!
My Uncle had a spare Olds 455 because they were hard to obtain in the 70s~ Just in case!
Others have stated the Olds 455 oil issues with pumping all the oil out the pan and having it stay up top in the rocker & valley area at high speed. I never saw this as an issue.
I beieve the 455 had a 10 quart special jet oilpan with crank oil scraper. Oil pressure was rock steady! The big 455 also had valve rotators on all valves!
A great engine I thought at this time.
The big Olds 455 was a real shoe-horn
fit in the 18's engine bay . It also sat very low in the bottom of the boat~ quite a bit lower than the typical I/O configuration. It was also much wider than the typical Holman-Moody small block Ford or the Big Block Chevy MK IV. Just look at how wide a 455's intake is compared to a Big Block Chevy's . A bit of a pain to work-on in the engine bay.
For some reason the Olds 455 was usually coupled to the Berkeley water jet combos.
Does anyone know the reason for this unusual combo?
Did Berkeley put-together the entire drive package complete with the Olds 455.
There was also another Donzi jet, a yellow 16 in Ocean City NJ at this time period!

The second strange Donzi drive was a V-drive 18 inboard!
My uncle bought this for my cousin because he did not trust I/O drives that sat in salt water all Summer season long ! He had long time experience with straight inboards all his life. He loved his Century Coronado Mahogany Inboard with gull-wing T top and simple straight inboard! This was advertised as the world's fastest prodution seedboat at this time!
But I digress...
The V-Drive Donzi was not very fast; nor did it turn or handle like it's jet or or for that matter it's I/O cousins.
I was never really a fan of this boat! Compared to the other drive systems it was sluggish and not nimble!
And lets not talk about trying to steer in reverse ! The torque steer in reverse was a real problem for docking similar to an inboard Mastercraft or my current American Skier Eagle 24' 454 Cu In Skiboat. The Jet and I/O Donzi boats spoiled me to this day 35 +years later!
I don't understand why more waterjets were not made at the time? I can understand why the V-Drive was dropped. V-drive fans & owners don't kill me....Just my observations & opinion!Perhapps this is why few V-Drives were built or survive today!
Another family member had a similar Warner V-Drive/Chrysler 440 Century speedboat!
Another rare & exotic boat today.
I would be glad to answer any questions of my memory about these unusual Donzi Drives as I grew-up driving & repairing & maintaining them for many years.
Sadly my uncle sold the Olds 455/Berkeley jetboat. I was crushed! I miss it to this day & would like to find myself one!
It is my belief that both the Jet & V-Drive family boats still survive today !
.. Brad Hunter

BlownCrewCab
08-14-2009, 06:36 AM
If I'm not mistaken someone on this board has a jet drive donzi:yes:

chappy
08-14-2009, 07:57 AM
This jet drive X raised many eyebrows.

http://www.donzi.net/forums/showthread.php?t=49948&highlight=jet

http://www.donzi.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=30783&d=1186094664 (http://www.donzi.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=30783&d=1186094664)

Beautiful boat.

BigGrizzly
08-14-2009, 10:12 AM
These drives were dropped for exactly for the reasons you stated. You may not believe this but all the PWCs suffer from the same malities as big jets did in times gone by. The V drives were and are as you stated.

silverghost
08-15-2009, 02:01 AM
About 6 years ago I saw a yellow with wite deck stripe 16 Berkeley jet Donzi project boat for sale in the Boat Shopper at a boatyard in Sea Isle City NJ. I ran down and saw the boat which was in very good shape with all hardware, gauges etc original trailer. The gel was in very good shape also!. Only the engine was missing. It was a Sunday & the yard office was closed. I wanted to buy this boat! Sadly Monday I found that it had sold for $3000. just two days earlier!
I had "Missed the boat"!
This Donzi jet I suspect was the same yellow 16 I had remembered in the 70s in nearby Ocean City NJ in Sunny Harbor lagoon on Walnut Lane.
Has this yellow Berkeley jet 16 surfaced in the Donzi collector/restorer community?
Has anyone seen it since?
Brad Hunter
215 947 4676

yeller
08-15-2009, 02:16 PM
Silverghost, I had a 16C jetdrive for 18yrs. And it did turn as you said. Man was it a ton of fun! It did suck air jumping the waves like you said, but I didn't see it as too much of a problem. Just taught me to read the waves better. I didn't see an excess of fuel consumption with my setup. It was probably on par with the I/O's and definitely better than the outboards.

Most fun I've ever had in any boat...by far!

WA-LO
08-16-2009, 10:55 AM
Long live the V-Drives!

mattyboy
08-16-2009, 11:09 AM
the rarest and most unusual powered Donzi would have to be the wind powered "donzi dink" sail boat

WA-LO
08-16-2009, 11:41 AM
Or this kind of whined!

mattyboy
08-16-2009, 11:53 AM
Awesome!!

BUIZILLA
08-16-2009, 12:59 PM
AZ rocks in TN?

Pismo
08-16-2009, 03:02 PM
Donzi V Drive 18s are still around, one on Lake George, a green mid 60s. Century did lots of V Drives right up until the mid 90s. Arabians, Coronados. Great stuff....

olredalert
08-16-2009, 06:13 PM
-----And remember the 427 H/M Corsican V-drive here on Lake St.Clair.......Mr.Bill

silverghost
08-16-2009, 08:52 PM
Donzi V Drive 18s are still around, one on Lake George, a green mid 60s. Century did lots of V Drives right up until the mid 90s. Arabians, Coronados. Great stuff....

MasterCraft on their bigger family skiboat inboards, & Tige are still building V-Drives. Some use the Velvet Drive V drive unit, while other models use the Walters V -Drive independant gearbox V-Drive unit in fromt of the transmission! V-Drive skiboats free up lots of center deckspace. but are rather stern heavy, and not as balanced as a convenional inboard set-up!
I have an American Skier 24' Eagle inboard with a 454 BBC and warner 72C. It handles & and tuns like it is on rails !
Great balanced straight inboard skiboat!
If you don't mind having a great big motorbox in the center of the boat!
The V-Drive MasterCrafts do not perform like this!
Sorry V-Drive fans~
Don't take my word for it~
Come to Ocean City NJ and take a ride in my Eagle!
Brad Hunter

Pismo
08-17-2009, 06:19 AM
MasterCraft on their bigger family skiboat inboards, & Tige are still building V-Drives. Some use the Velvet Drive V drive unit, while other models use the Walters V -Drive independant gearbox V-Drive unit in fromt of the transmission! V-Drive skiboats free up lots of center deckspace. but are rather stern heavy, and not as balanced as a convenional inboard set-up!
I have an American Skier 24' Eagle inboard with a 454 BBC and warner 72C. It handles & and tuns like it is on rails !
Great balanced straight inboard skiboat!
If you don't mind having a great big motorbox in the center of the boat!
The V-Drive MasterCrafts do not perform like this!
Sorry V-Drive fans~
Don't take my word for it~
Come to Ocean City NJ and take a ride in my Eagle!
Brad Hunter

I agree, straight inboard is the best, but a VDrive is next best...

Forrest
08-17-2009, 10:55 AM
Or this kind of whined!

. . . as seen and heard by many at Eufaula 4! :cool:

WA-LO
08-17-2009, 11:12 AM
Those were the good old days!!

bubbad
08-17-2009, 01:50 PM
Does anyone out there know production numbers on donzi v-drives. I own a mint 69 18 2+3 baby blue, holman moody 351 with orig. trailier

v-drive
08-19-2009, 05:07 AM
I agree that with all the options that we have today a v-drive in a 24 degree bottom boat is not the hot ticket. I think what you forgot is that 40 years ago for the man that wanted a side oiler 427, his only option was a v-drive. If you own a v-drive you understand that it is what it is. But there is also a few people like me who is more interested in having something nobody else has. I enjoy being able to say that I have a v-drive with its original 427. When I pass by the local hang out and punch it, the guys get a kick out of hearing my 3-speed transmisson downshift into passing gear, pull to 6000 RPM and upshift into drive. For me thats a trade off for not being able to back up in reverse. If I want to run faster than 65 I'll go get my other boat.