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
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