69 Sweet 16 with rounded stern

[mcarrabino]

Hi All,
I am a brand new Donzi owner, 1969 16, however I cannot find another pic a boat like mine anywhere with the stern like mine, it is rounded. Can anybody tell me what I have??
Mike

[jl1962]

Welcome.

Not a Ski Sporter (or a Sweet 16).

From the engine vents I'd say Formula Jr.
http://www.donzi.net/forums/showthread.php?t=61674&highlight=formula+jr

Cool boat. Use the search feature - lots of threads.

[silverghost]

Mike~
Your new boat sure looks like a Formula Jr.
It was designed by the same fellow who also later designed the Donzi 16.

It is NOT a Donzi however.

Those incorrect "Donzi" decal stickers were put on there much later by some prior owner.
Sadly~
This happens all the time.

This is a great little boat~
And a fairly RARE boat.


They are very fast & take rough water conditions very well .
A very stable boat indeed.

Enjoy her !

Do a search for "Formula Jr" here on this site's search function above & also Google for more info.

[Just Say N20]

Welcome!

Silverghost is correct. That is not a Donzi, but almost certainly a Formula Jr. They are also a very nice boat.

[Greg Guimond]

Mike, a Formula Jr is rare, a lot more so then a Donzi 16. Nice find.

[silverghost]

Mike, a Formula Jr is rare, a lot more so then a Donzi 16. Nice find.

I agree with Greg~

You can find, & buy, a Donzi 16 every day of the week~
But~
Just try to find another Formula Jr out there.

The Formula Jr. is Very Rare & a very historic collectable early speedboat.
Few are known to exist today !

Congratulations on a very nice find indeed !

[Walt. H.]

Here's a short action video of one that was forsale back in April 2010 after doing a Formula Jr topic search.
http://www.donzi.net/forums/showthread.php?t=61673&highlight=formula+jr

[mcarrabino]

Hi All,
I am a brand new Donzi owner, 1969 16, however I cannot find another pic a boat like mine anywhere with the stern like mine, it is rounded. Can anybody tell me what I have??
Mike

Thank you all of you for the excellent information. Very exciting to fall across a rare find.

Does anyone know how I might go about finding the approximate of the boat? Thanks again, Mike

[mcarrabino]

Thank you all of you for the excellent information. Very exciting to fall across a rare find.

Does anyone know how I might go about finding the approximate of the boat? Thanks again, Mike

Sorry, approximate value. Also, are there hull markings or anything that would identify exact year, model etc?

[pipnit]

No Idea on the value, just wanted to chime in and say COOL BOAT! :)

[GBond]

Anyone every hear from Formula Jr. from back in the day? Always enjoyed his posts. He was the local historian on the Formula Jr.

[Dax McDavid]

Really cool boat! Congrats

[silverghost]

Mike~
What engine do you have in your Formula Jr ?
Many originally came with inline six cylinders.
Very early units had 4 cylinder engines.

Late production had V-8 engines.

Most of the Formula
Jr boats that are known today are in very rough condition.
Thunderbird boats built them as their Formula Jr model.
They were modeled off of the famous plywood Wynn-Mill race boats.
You used to be able to buy "Plywood plans" for this wooden version to build it yourself in the 60-70s.


Get us some photos of it's engine bay & interior if you can .

[mcarrabino]

Hi Ghost, it is an inline six....merc, looks like an original.

[silverghost]

Yep~
Most were powered by the old inline six.
Many existing examples were converted years later to small block V-8 power.

The early wooden do-it-yourself mail order plywood plan boats were mostly 4 & 6 cylinder engine powered.

Mike~
You meed to get rid of those Bogus incorrect Donzi decals & find a pair of Thunderbird/ Formula Jr. chrome cast pot metal logos .

[joseph m. hahnl]

known as the Wyn Mill and the Wyn Mill II I think

http://www.donzi.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=10564&d=1112902069 (http://www.donzi.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=10564&d=1112902069)

http://www.donzi.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=65821&d=1312329026 (http://www.donzi.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=65821&d=1312329026)

http://www.donzi.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=65821&stc=1&thumb=1&d=1312329026 (http://www.donzi.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=65821&d=1312329026)

[silverghost]

known as the Wyn Mill and the Wyn Mill II I think

http://www.donzi.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=10564&d=1112902069 (http://www.donzi.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=10564&d=1112902069)



There is a plywood mail order kit/plan Winn Mill home-built copy sitting under a makeshift car-port style shed on Asbury Rd in Scullville/ Egg Harbor Township NJ just outside Somers Point NJ.
It looks exactly like the above photo.
The owner, now in his 70s built it from the mail-order plans with his late father in the 1960s.
It is six cylinder I/O powered.

It is for sale now~
It has been for years~
Asking price $900.
It has sadly suffered from outside exposure and now may only be good if used as a "pattern boat"to copy.
Someone should save this old historic marine plywood race boat.

[mcarrabino]

Ghost (all),
thanks so much for all of your input on this boat that I found. I really really like the boat and will likely continue the restoration process. The previous owner did a top off, renforced the stringers and transom. The boat is now generally in good shape and runs like a top. The motor and outdrive were also recently refreshed. My plan is to keep the boat for a long time to come - my son will like to have it some day I am sure. I am glad to have it and very excited as well!!!
Thanks again,
Mike