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View Full Version : Donzi 16 and 18 original design info



boatnut
07-23-2011, 11:28 AM
The current issue of Professional Boat Builder (number 132, Aug/Sept 2011) has a very interesting article on Walt Walters which covers the original design of the 16 and how it was stretched into the 18. Also goes into other designs he did for Don Arronow and his ongoing relationship with Jim Wynne. Wynne is credited with inventing the stern drive which he licensed to Volvo. Interesting history of early offshore racing in the article also. Ed

GeneD
07-24-2011, 10:20 AM
Cool!
I'm dying to read it...though I don't know where to get a copy.
And while it is true that Jim Wynn is the designer of record for the Volvo drive, he did not design it.
I can't remember his name, but he just died recently. It was then that the truth came out that an engineer from Mercury invented it, was denied manufacture by Carl, given to Jim Wynn and eventually copied by Mercury and became the Bravo drive.
I may have the story a bit wobbly, but the facts are the same.
Things that make you say Hmmm....

Morgan's Cloud
07-24-2011, 11:53 AM
It's Charlie Strang who was reportedly the real inventor of the stern drive
(The invention of the devil , per Brownie :biggrin:)

Supposedly Wynne got word of it , or an early drawing ..maybe on the back of an old cocktail napkin ? ? and went with it.

Once Keikhaefer (sp) saw that it was viable judging by the public interest he had to come out with his own.

Otherwise , it would have been an OMC invention if I'm not mistaken.

And I don't think that Strang and Wynne had a whole lot of love for each other after that !

Carl C
07-24-2011, 12:02 PM
Photograph or scan and post it. :)

boatnut
07-24-2011, 12:56 PM
It is too long of an article (12 pages or so). Try http://www.proboat.com/

Carl C
07-24-2011, 01:56 PM
Not gonna subscribe for one article. Thanks anyway.

GeneD
07-24-2011, 06:31 PM
Here's the story...and it's a good one!
http://www.rbbi.com/folders/pat/isd.htm

boatnut
07-24-2011, 07:56 PM
Thanks Gene, very interesting history. It is also interesting (to me at least) that Volvo did such a great job on sterndrives. Until the mid 70's when Merc brought out the TRS drives, the volvo (270 etc.) was the best drive to use for performance as the Merc drives had a less effiecient lower unit design (unless you used Merc's Racing components). Of course Volvo also had racing components and the Volvo speedmaster lower unit on a 270/280 with a 300hp stock SBC would get an 18' Donzi into the 75 to 80mph range.
I have also found Volvo drives to be far superior on reliability. Again, thks for the history lesson. Ed