What years were 18's Barrellbacks?

[Eplebnista]

One for sale local to me. Ad says it is a 71.

[silverghost]

I saw that MD Barrelback on Craigslist that is advertised as a 1971.
It is surely not the correct year for that boat.

Others will correct me if I am wrong ~
But I believe sometime in early 1969 was the last barrelback produced .

[jl1962]

mid 1968

[mattyboy]

do a search here on flatracerakabarrellback he has a database with the barrellbacks in them. the standard "classic" style 18 2+3 was seen in 68 that doesn't mean the factory didn't make a barrelback after that.
the hull demarcation point is around 230 something and that would be in 68. several members of the LGDCC have standard "back" 1968 18 2+3s

this could very well be registered as a 71 could have been sitting on a lot for a couple of years, or having no HIN was assigned a 71 on the title or registration when it was registered.

[silverghost]

mid 1968

I had always thought 1968 was the last barrelback too~

But EMMO here claims to have an early 1969 barrelback that was the very last one known to have been built.

Could EMMO's have been a left-over unsold boat ?

Who Knows for sure ?

[Bobby D]

I agree with Matt good answer and explanation on year built vs. year sold.
I believe my boat is a 1972 18 2+3 however if challenged I would not be able to prove it. All I have is a copy of a title and several early service and sales receipts the say it’s a 72 but I don’t know for sure. Also I don’t know the hull number but what I do know is the one the state of Florida gave it when it was titled is wrong because hull number 445 belongs to Maddad. What I do know and have pictures to prove is the boat was originally a 302 Ford HM port helm boat.

[jl1962]

Here is hull 232, non barrelback. Owner believes it to be a '68.

http://www.donzi.net/forums/showthread.php?t=64800

Paul Chase has a non barrel back 18 on LG which he believes is a '69.

I also remember a really clean white 18 w/ a black stripe at the Dust-Off several years ago. The owner drove it out from Michigan. One owner, '69, non-barrelback.

I agree w/ Matty (of course) that no one knows for sure that Donzi didn't make another, but...........

[Donzi Vol]

1966-1968 with a few triple hatches in the mix.

[mattyboy]

the 18 was around in 65 after Don sold Donzi but was still a consultant to teleflex.

emmo's boat is hull 215 according to posts he made here which makes it a 68 and not the last one either , LGDCC members Cdma and B.Schwab have barrelback hulls 223 and 225 both 68s


point incase about the factory making something special. they made a round bottom barrellback. also the benchseat hornets were by popular beliefs done in production in 68 but a 71 is known to exist. built and sold in 71 not a left over most likely a special order.

[silverghost]

The various State Boat Title laws has possibly caused a lot of confusion as far as year of actual manufacture of many older boats .

Many states did not offer actual boat title papers.

In Pennsylvania Boat titles were first issued in 1996 ~
At first it was on a "as requested by owner or bank/lender" basis.
I had to go and title my older boats for the first time in 1996.
Before this time there were no boat titles in PA ~Just registrations.

New Jersey started to issue boat titles in 1987 +/-
Before this date~ No titles were issued in NJ.
Just licence/registrations.

Often a boat sat in a dealer's showroom for a year or more before being first sold as new & was titled incorrectly as to that year at the time of sale.

[Sweet Cheekz]

My 16 was titled an 81 in Florida but when I pulled the tank it was a 1979

Go figure

Parnell

[Buddyc]

I have a 1966, I believe the tripple hatches were prior to then. Starbord side drive and hull # 105

[RudeBuoy]

I have a 66 Barrelback Triplehatch but can't locate the hull number since the transom was rebuilt in 91'. Is there any way to determine what the hull number is?

[mattyboy]

a 66 would not have a number on the transom anyway. Look on the back side of the dash written in marker. they also wrote it on the bow eye backing plate. grab a flashlite and crawl up under the deck, look for any black marker lines. you have to imagine someone reaching over a flippped deck the numbers are not always upright

hope that helps

[RudeBuoy]

Thanks, will check tomorrow. mosquitoes are brutal at night this year.

[GeneD]

It is my understanding that the triple hatch 18 was discontinued in 1966 due to manufacturing difficulties. The single hatch was easier to make and install. Less hardware, easier to fit.
The barrelbacks continued for few years, but then were discontinued due to, again, manufacturing processes. The straight across transom was easier to fit and install the trim.
To my knowledge, all 18' triple hatch barrelbacks were made in late '65 and early '66 and debuted in the 1966 Miami boat show. Any of these boats that have titles claiming later years were titled late. Normally these boats would sit in the dealership's showroom or lot until sold and a title would be issued for year of sale.
Being in the manufacturing business in my early years, I know for fact that if you have serial number 105, that does not necessarily mean you have the 105th boat made in that series. Often times, we would start with serial number 101 to make it appear as if we had made this particular item many times before to give the buyer confidence. I worked in the prototype division of my company.
However, I do not know what was on Mr. Aronow's mind when they did serial numbers so you might want to discount my ramblings...:eek:
Also, there is much controversy pertaining to sharp V hulls at the transom vs rounded transom. You can debate it all day long, but the reason for the change was to prevent novice boaters from flipping the boat in a tight turn.

[RockyS18]

I'm going to post a stupid question, what is the difference between a single and a triple hatch?

[silverghost]

The early Barrelbacks had three hatch covers on the engine compartment.

Later boats only had one big hatch cover.

[Marlin275]

what is the difference between a single and a triple hatch?

http://www.donzi.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=56994&d=1277765757

http://www.donzi.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=50560&d=1252701131

http://www.donzi.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=60056&d=1291161872

[RockyS18]

Ok thanks, I understand now. That's an interesting design.

[Tony]

GeneD...now there is a blast from the past!

Great to hear from you again, I remember reading your posts on the original Donzi Registry about 15 years ago.

:pimp:

[Rob M]

I remember reading your posts on the original Donzi Registry about 15 years ago.
:pimp:
Me too. Always got sore eyes because the background was black and the text was white!

[FlatRacer, aka BarrelBack]

Has anyone ever seen a triple hatch w/ a V-Drive???
Now, that would be cool!

Eric

[Phil S]

One for sale local to me. Ad says it is a 71.


Did you buy it ?

[Phil S]

Why or why not ?


(being a "troll" here DD...just an FYI....any tips ? )

[GeneD]

BuddyC...I just pulled that 105 number out of my hat.
Tony...what a memory. I come on here when I'm bored, and usually piss a couple people off.
Here's something for discussion...
My boat was left hand steering when I bought it.
The only reason for left hand steering was that the Volvo's prop turned left. And the driver's weight would compensate for the prop torque.
Of course it was meaningless if you had a passenger...
I've always regretted ripping out that dash before I checked for a serial number. There's supposed to be another one up front by the lift ring gusset. When I pull the deck off (again) to fix the delamination of the deck, I'm going to check that area.
And hey...whose got that triple hatch with the piano hinge?
I have to admire those with triple hatches that still have the original latches. I looked and looked for those, then found that GEM up in New England somewhere made 'em. Bought a set and sent 'em back as they looked like they were made in a high school metal shop.

[nguber57]

This should complete the story, The donzi in question belongs to me.When i had the hull and deck seperated to install new gas tank i did not know were to look for the hand written serial number.So when the work was done i painted the inside of the hull and the under side deck and covered up the numbers.As someone said NJ.were i purchased the boat didnt have titles for boats back then.The state assigned the boat a hull id. number NJZ20040HULL to the best of my knowlege the boat is 1969 or older.I do know the origional owner purchased the boat in 1970.