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View Full Version : Just got a 86' 22 Classic, first Donzi



daved
09-15-2009, 12:34 PM
I just got a 22c and would like to make a few improvements/repairs. Can anyone direct me to a place I might find parts? I am going to get the hull and interior in shape first, which is really not bad and then make some changes to the engine. I am looking for a stainless rubrail and some other interior stuff. I took the boat out last weekend for the first time and love it, 65mph is a 22' 7' wide boat is lots of fun. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,Dave

MOP
09-15-2009, 01:19 PM
Start off with finding George Carters posts on his rehabilitation's! Did one beauty and working on another! Tons of info for you to digest! Rub rail is easy Taco Products! Lots of work but lots of fun enjoy your Donzi Daz!!!!!!

Phil

daved
09-15-2009, 01:46 PM
Thankf for the info Phil. I will check it out..
Dave

oledawg
09-15-2009, 02:26 PM
Since I have had my '88 22C only about 2 weeks I will try to find the same thread, I am sure that there are lots of nuggets that could be useful. :cool!:

gcarter
09-15-2009, 02:49 PM
Here ya go:

http://www.donzi.net/forums/showthread.php?t=50476

Donzi Vol
09-15-2009, 03:17 PM
Congrats on the new purchase and welcome to the board! Have fun with the repairs and upgrades, but remember to save a little coin for gas. That's an easy one to forget...

LKSD
09-16-2009, 09:05 AM
We may also be of use to you with either our services or parts.. :) Jamie / Lakeside Restorations

BTW: welcome & Congrats on your new ride :)

BigGrizzly
09-16-2009, 09:25 AM
Welcome, what is the power and drive this will help in that area of modification if that is your direction too. Well this will be my last post until we get back from Possum Kingdom:yes::yes::yes::yes::yes:

daved
09-17-2009, 06:53 AM
The power is a 7.4 365 h.p as shown on the engine tag. Unfortunately the drive is an Alpha. I always thought the alpha was only good to 300 h.p? I am plan on doing the cosmetic stuff first and if i have any $$ left make some engine mods. If more h.p is not a good idea with an Alpha and a Bravo upgrade is too much $$ I will focus on the body of the boat to bring it back to mint condition and just be happy with the 65mph the boat does now.
Thanks to everyone who replied. This is a great site with lots of helpful people. I think I am going to like owning a Donzi..
Dave

axelkloehn
09-17-2009, 07:57 AM
The power is a 7.4 365 h.p as shown on the engine tag. Unfortunately the drive is an Alpha. I always thought the alpha was only good to 300 h.p? I am plan on doing the cosmetic stuff first and if i have any $$ left make some engine mods. If more h.p is not a good idea with an Alpha and a Bravo upgrade is too much $$ I will focus on the body of the boat to bring it back to mint condition and just be happy with the 65mph the boat does now.
Thanks to everyone who replied. This is a great site with lots of helpful people. I think I am going to like owning a Donzi..
Dave

There are several boats around with BBC/Alpha, normally they go with a Alpha 2. But I have seen a cigarette next to my place with twin BBC Magnums about 370 horses each with Alpha 1 outdrives. He is around for years now, so it shouldn't be a problem if you don't drive it too hard.
But it matches my information that over 300 horses you should go at minimum with a Bravo 1. The Bravo 1 shouldn't be that expansive, you can find one at ebay and sell your alpha if it is in a good condition without loosing too much. But be careful, I have seen many Bravo 1 around with welded bell housings or welded gimbal areas around the bearings that changing the bearing turns out to be a problem- may be you should go for a new Bravo transom rigg combined with a good used Bravo 1 outdrive.

olredalert
09-17-2009, 08:00 AM
-----Daved,,,MOP is correct about the manufacturer of your rubrail. However, it isnt stainless unless someone has upgraded what came on the boat new. "Taco" rubrail as delivered was polished, anodized aluminum. It is relatively easy to install although you may find the screw holes in the boat and rubrail dont have the same distance in between. If thats the case you will be drillin some and fillin some others. Also, you cant buy the same length-over-all pieces from vendors like West Marine so you will have a few more seams. A rubber mallet and a bit of planning will get you a new great looking rubrail you will be proud of, though!!!
-----You can buy stainless and it is more durable, but more expensive. It is also WAY harder to bend correctly and generally has to be heated to be bent and then re-polished at the bends. I always have a couple of extra strips of the aluminum stuff around and in the event of a small catastrophy I just replace that piece, but thats just me. Hope this helps. :wink: .......Mr.Bill

jimishooch
09-17-2009, 08:28 AM
talk to alan at www.rubrails.com (http://www.rubrails.com). taco marine does not sell retail. i recently changed out the "J" rail on my '88 minx and he crossed referenced to taco marine.
it comes in 8' sections and is shipped commercial. ups and the like won't ship over 6'.
you can install this twice as fast with 2 people.
jim

daved
09-17-2009, 12:05 PM
Thanks for the info, it's a big help.
I am addicted to this site.
Dave

Planetwarmer
09-18-2009, 05:50 PM
I have the 454/Alpha combo. The drive is original (220 hrs). I disassembled the drive in July to replace the seals, and the gears and bearings looked great. If you do go to a Bravo, you will loose a couple of MPH. Bravo drives are also significantly more expensive to repair. Unless you really want to boost your power, I would leave the drive and enjoy a nice boat.

Oh, drive the thing with some respect (ie no huge air, slamming the throttle down at idle, and regularly "chopping the throttle" from full throttle) and you will be fine. You don't baby the boat, just don't drive it like an idiot, and enjoy the extra 3 MPH and better fuel economy.

gcarter
09-18-2009, 09:57 PM
Actually, I just got done shipping some 12' lengths to a board member...
That's good to know.
In a few months, I'll need four 12' pieces.

olredalert
09-19-2009, 08:45 AM
------Forgot about the parts finding ability of the famous Madpoodle. 12 foot sections are very cool. That cuts down on the seams!!! :cool: .........Mr.Bill

jimishooch
09-20-2009, 09:56 AM
Actually, I just got done shipping some 12' lengths to a board member...

good to know, i did my rub rail before everything went south. i bet ups and others are shipping all sorts of things that they never did before because they need the business.
jim

farmer tx
09-20-2009, 08:27 PM
That's good to know.
In a few months, I'll need four 12' pieces.

Better measure George, I'm not sure 4 will do it.

gcarter
09-20-2009, 09:00 PM
Better measure George, I'm not sure 4 will do it.
I will Mark, but four pieces is what I took off.
Do they make pieces longer than 12' ?

MOP
09-20-2009, 09:22 PM
You need 5-12's George, it is roughly 53 feet.

gcarter
09-20-2009, 09:31 PM
I guess I'll have to measure the 4 pieces I removed.

daved
09-21-2009, 06:24 AM
I want to thank everyone for the replies. I will be looking at the rail replacement as soon as I get the boat repainted. I need to see how much $$ I have left. The paint will be done the first week of nov. The red was matched and will be finished with three coats of clear coat by a very good marine restoration guy in Newburyport, Ma. I took the boat out yesterday and was amazed at the attention these boats get. The boat ran awsome. a guy in a Baja 24' was looking to see how his boat did against my Donzi, but racing does not interest me. I like to go fast but only when I have a lot of open water and no other boats close. Also, it was my first time out and I was getting the fell of the boat.

Dave

Just Say N20
09-21-2009, 07:15 AM
a guy in a Baja 24' was looking to see how his boat did against my Donzi, but racing does not interest me. I like to go fast but only when I have a lot of open water and no other boats close. Also, it was my first time out and I was getting the fell of the boat.

Dave

Very good call. :yes:

Seat time is important before trying to wring out the last few mph.

Donzi Racer
09-21-2009, 07:41 AM
I have the 454/Alpha combo. The drive is original (220 hrs). I disassembled the drive in July to replace the seals, and the gears and bearings looked great. If you do go to a Bravo, you will loose a couple of MPH. Bravo drives are also significantly more expensive to repair. Unless you really want to boost your power, I would leave the drive and enjoy a nice boat.

Oh, drive the thing with some respect (ie no huge air, slamming the throttle down at idle, and regularly "chopping the throttle" from full throttle) and you will be fine. You don't baby the boat, just don't drive it like an idiot, and enjoy the extra 3 MPH and better fuel economy.

Dave, this is very useful info & correct info above, just 2 little tidbits of info. When ordering the rub rail it really needs to be the one with the turned under lip like originally came with the boat. We went with what was suggested from one of the boat suppliers and it was just a quarter moon stuff that looked ok but was a lot of trouble to fill in the gap it left. 2nd you should be looking at about $5 a foot from what we have been able to find plus shipping. They are right, none of the screw holes match up and we have found it easiest to have some extra stainless screws the size that came out and one size larger just in case. Put all new screws in and since you will be drilling out holes to put them into they should be fine.

Now as far as your engine/drive combo, it is a fine combo, if you do as they say and do not get crazy. We have had alphas and bravos and I know I will drive most of he registry crazy with this next statement, but I prefer the alpha for the same reason you mentioned. COST! If a boat comes with Bravo and we have had plenty that did, that is a great drive but with the way I drive, I have found that I can tear up anything. Soooo if your Alpha goes south, call SE drives down in florida and order a new Alpha style drive, it will be $1195, and will bolt on and then run the dickens out of it. It comes with a complete 3 year warranty. I have run motors up to 400 hp with the SE and I can't seem to break one. The only preventative steps I take are no quick hole shots and no 20 mph to 60 mph quick shots. Everything with a bit of purpose and then jump, play, race, and have a blast. $1195 I still can't get over that! I even get some of my customers that have really nice alphas to pull them for storage and order the SE drive & have that warranty just in case. If they ever wish to sell their Donzi, switch back and keep the SE for the next one. Just my 2c & man Congrats on owning one of the very best rides in the WORLD! What color & where do you use it? Tom

daved
09-21-2009, 08:37 AM
Tom,
Thanks for the info. I now plan on keeping the alpha and just taking it easy, as I usually do. I actually slow down for large wakes, the banging of the hull can't be good. My 22c is red/white with the red stripe on the bow and engine cover. The stripe also has a blue pinstripe which looks nice. The hull sides are very faded but no scratches. I just made an appointement for a paint job last saturday, it will go in the first week of Nov. I have a few spider cracks to repair but will wait until next year for that. I am spending too much this year... I have a big river, which leads to the ocean within a mile of my house and I boat on lake Winnipesaukee,N.H
I used to see a Donzi club in N.H but I can't seem to fine it on line, I will keep looking for other Donzi nuts around here.
Thanks,Dave

Cuda
09-21-2009, 09:21 AM
I don't remember how many hours Vette's brother put on a 454/Alpha, but it was a lot! He changed drives when he changed engines.

oledawg
09-21-2009, 09:35 AM
My 22C has exactly the same color scheme. The previous owner decided that he was going to peal off the blue stripes for some reason and when he started he also pealed off some of the white decking gelcoat for about a 1/2" ( not pretty! ) in the spot where he started this project. He stopped thank goodness, but now I have to "patch" his mess. In the interest of cost I am going to restripe the whole thing with some black marine striping tape that is 1" and just cover everything up. Came from Jamestown Distributors and should work.

On the big wakes, hey, at speed this boat doesn't "bang", it "dances" right across them! If I slow down is when things get sketchy! :wink:

daved
09-21-2009, 11:30 AM
Yea, I just took the wake wrong. Kind of funny, my brother in law was drinking a beer and got soaked when the liquid flew out of the top. I looked over at him and he had beer dripping off of his nose..
I will post some before and after pics this winter when the boat has been painted.
Dave

juststartinout
09-21-2009, 06:53 PM
Hi hope to see you out there sometine great ride past plum island. I have the same setup 86' red white 22' classic only diff is mine has 350 alpha combo. Would like to see before and after on paint. While dont have the spare $$ it will be in the future some time. I run out of beverly.

daved
09-21-2009, 07:12 PM
I will post some picts as soon as the paint is done, I have a early Nov appiontment. Do you have a digital engin monitor on yours? need info, mine started beeping yesterday with a very light beep but all guages were fine and I hit the top button and the beep turned off?
I love these boats, I just got it fron a guy who only used it at Winnipesaukee so it was clean mechanically but the sides are very faded. I have a few small topside gel coat cracks but i will get to those next year. I can't spend the extra $ this year on the cracks.
Dave

MOP
09-21-2009, 07:17 PM
Dave Is the gel so bad it will not buff out, we have had quite few dull puppies that came out like jewels with a good heavy compounding and waxing, Donzi did use good gel most boats are savable, find Tony's post on his boat it was a cloud but looks super now!

Phil

olredalert
09-21-2009, 07:17 PM
------Dave,,,We dont like to hear about spilled, wasted beer here on the website :shocking::shocking::shocking:. Please, either keep it to yourself or say a hail-Mary or something!!! Glad you like your new purchase........Mr.Bill

Planetwarmer
09-21-2009, 09:30 PM
The deck and transom are clear coated on my boat. It sure is nice and shiny all of the time. You might consider it.