How long is 16

[RPD]

I had noticed this in the past but it just hit me again .... the Donzi brochures from the 60's list the LOA of the ski sporter as 16' 7.5" but the recent and current Donzi literature lists the LOA of the 16 classic as 16' 5" .... since LOA is normally the hull and does not include the mechanicals hanging off the transom ... how long is a 16?

[mattyboy]

what era 16 ????? the newer ones came from a different mold than the older one's

any skisporter 16' 7.5" pre 1980


I have no idea on the sweet 16 or 16 classic post 1990

[RPD]

Interesting .... I assumed they probably would not have the old mold but would have used an older boat to make a new mold when they resumed production.

[mattyboy]

supposedly the story goes they used one of the numerous splashes of the 16 for the new mold.

[silverghost]

Matty: I know you know what you are talking about. No doubt about that~
You are very tuned-in to Donzi history.
I find it strange that Donzi resorted to using a splash clone for the newer 16 mold when they could have easily just found & used the real old authentic Donzi hull.
Very strange indeed !

[mattyboy]

even with a 10 year old boat finding one that was still true would be a chore. plus now paying someone to make a plug out of their baby???. It makes perfect sense.It is exactly how a big corp thinks.now add the fact that the deck would need to be brand new anyway to accomodate the OMC right handed drives. go find a splash that is already right handed. they probably discounted a bill or increased a credit line to the company that provided the plug.

remember in the decade of non 16 production Donzi had 3 owners

Chisholm to Staples to OMC

[RPD]

still ... if the clone was made by using a ski sporter as a plug and then the clone was used as a plug to make the new sweet sixteen, 2.5 inches seems like a lot to lose .... (I know I'd hate to lose 2.5")

But since the original was over sixteen and a half feet that explains why cobalt called theirs a 17 (Not that boat builders have ever been restrained by accuracy.)

[mattyboy]

2.5 inches just enough to claim it was not an exact copy ;)