Raised hatch on 18 classic

[margo]

Asking this question for a friend of mine who has a 16 classic with a 305 merc..He,s wondering why the 18 has the hump in the engine hatch and his 16 is flat..Is there that much differance in the height in the 350?

[mrfixxall]

Asking this question for a friend of mine who has a 16 classic with a 305 merc..He,s wondering why the 18 has the hump in the engine hatch and his 16 is flat..Is there that much differance in the height in the 350?


the 18's with the the raised hatch are the ones with the raised x dimentions.

[fogducker III]

the 18's with the the raised hatch are the ones with the raised x dimentions.

Not true bro-----my 1995 18C had the raised hatch BEFORE the Scorpion was put in and there was no X issue... originally the 350 with an Alpha.....I believe for a few years Donzi used those style of hatches because they had them... perhaps they were designed for a raised X or another purpose but they turned up on numerous boats for no real reason.....they look good though.....IMO

:wink:

[mrfixxall]

True bro,,the exhaust risers would not clear the hatch so they raised the hatch also..

1987 Donzi Classic Donzi 18 SPECIAL EDITION For Sale (http://www.canadaboatshopper.com/listings/7953/18-1987-donzi-classic-donzi.html)
Model: Classic Donzi 18 SPECIAL EDITION. Length: 18'. Engines: 1. Engine Make ... performance thanks to its special engine hatch and raised x-dimension

[fogducker III]

I do think it helped with air flow under there...:confused:

Besides that, you could fit a real "monster" stealth unit down below without raising an eyebrow....:yes:

[mrfixxall]

True Dat! :) any time you see the through hull tip's outter ring cut on the top part that would be a raised x dimention boat.

[MOP]

The hump hatch boat did have a higher X, they do run batter the the flat hatch boats.

[RickSE]

1996 also had the big raised hatch and I don't believe the X was raised on these boats. I believe they changed to the current smaller raised hatch in 1997.

[Ranman]

1996 also had the big raised hatch and I don't believe the X was raised on these boats. I believe they changed to the current smaller raised hatch in 1997.

This is correct. I owned both a raised hatch 86 and a smaller hump 97. I've seen Donzis of the mid 90's vintage with OMC Cobra power (5.8L Ford packages that needed the large hump to clear the exhaust and intake manifolds though the X was stock.

Brad Lyon's boat is one of these if I recall correctly.

[Jraysray]

1990
http://www.donzi.net/forums/picture.php?pictureid=1333&albumid=59&dl=1264713987&thumb=1 (http://www.donzi.net/forums/album.php?albumid=59&pictureid=1333)

[RedDog]

1990
http://www.donzi.net/forums/picture.php?pictureid=1333&albumid=59&dl=1264713987&thumb=1 (http://www.donzi.net/forums/album.php?albumid=59&pictureid=1333)

Same hatch I had on my 1990 with OMC King Cobra drive - in my case it needed the extra room... :wink:

[Jraysray]

True Dat! :) any time you see the through hull tip's outter ring cut on the top part that would be a raised x dimention boat.

So mine is cut and I have the the raised hatch....... Hmmmm, guess I have the raised X? Who knew....

[margo]

So mine is cut and I have the the raised hatch....... Hmmmm, guess I have the raised X? Who knew....
In other words if you wanted to put a 350, in place of the 305, it would fit without the raised hatch.....1995 16...