1968 donzi sweet 16 restoration

[atrides12]

I just recently purchased my first 1968 donzi sweet 16 and i figured i would do the restoration myself, and i figured i would post the progress here. now this is a resto project on a budget so some of the methods used here might look ridiculous, but its the best I can do with what I have. I bought the hull and trailer off ebay for 1650.00, the trailer is worth at least 2000. here are the before pictures, any helpful tips anyone can offer would be appreciated.711357113671137

[f_inscreenname]

Man I love them like that. The more duct tape the better. lol
I'll be watching.:yes:

[silverghost]

Good Luck with your new project !

I believe this exact boat project was posted here several times in 2009-2010 .
That owner later offered it up for sale here when he found it was way too much of a project for him; & he later abandoned his restoration plans.

Do a forum search for it in this site's search function above.
There are also photos posted !

[Jraysray]

You got quite a project here. What are you thinking about doing? Whats the end result in your head at the moment? At this point you are free to do what ever you want. Period correct restro? Restro mod? What's the power/drive gonna look like?

Being you have a blank slate with this. I would suggest a thought out plan. Stick to it and watch the budget.

[f_inscreenname]

My advice to you would be is to start with a saw zaw and finish with a paint sprayer. Plan on going deep at the git go. Gas tank, stringer, transom. Best to find out now then later.

[Carl C]

I love to see the old boats brought back but you'd better be doing it for love of the project and boat and not to save $. You can buy a very nice 16 ready to go and on a trailer for $12,000. You will have a whole lot more into this one plus countless hours. I agree about taking the sawzall to it...................then sell the trailer ;). JMO and a heads up on what you're getting into. Thanks for posting it here in any case. There are 3 16s listed here for between 12 & 18 grand & the 18 grand one is a fully restored V-drive. http://www.powerboatlistings.com/donzi/

[atrides12]

[ QUOTE=$originalposter]{$pagetext}[/QUOTE]

i saw that post a few weeks ago when i was browsing and couldn't believe it, it looks exactly the same but someone put it on a nice trailer and the wrap around handrail is gone. whoever did work on this thing really butchered it they drilled holes all over the dash cut big access panels in the side so i had a lot of patching to do. and that paint job is just nasty looking.

[atrides12]

the first thing i did was cut away the outer transom skin for a new transom, i plan on using seacast for the new transom. the old drive was the volvo and I'm putting an omc drive in seeing as how i already have the outdrive, so i had to fiberglass over the hole to fill it. then i built a cradle around the upper half to pop the top off, a friend brought his farm tractor over and we lifted the top off with the bucket. I would very much like to restore it to the original look but i can't afford the original motor and drive, so I'm going to try to make it as original as possible without going insane.
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[atrides12]

after the top was off and i ripped out the old gas tank i started framing out the inside so i could flip the hull upside down to work on the hull (thank god 2x4s are cheap). we debated for a bit at the boatyard on the best way to flip (one guy said if the hole in the back was still open we could rotisery it) we finally just picked the thing up by the eyes, not the safest way but it got the job done.
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[atrides12]

5f5 paint stripper became my best friend for about 3 days while i stripped that nasty bottom and topside paint off. most of the paint came off pretty easily then it was sanding the dry residue off. the old metal donzi marine emblems left an imprint on both sides along with the larger DONZI sticker along with the british and american flag, so I'm going to get the original stickers from donzi direct.7115371161711607115971158711577115671155711 5471162

[Just Say N20]

Very nice progress already. Ditto to Carl's statement regarding motives for the project. It will not save you any money when compared to buying a complete boat. It will allow you to spread the money spending out over whatever time frame you want. I have no idea over how many hours I have in mine. I do know how much money I have into it, and that is best left un-discussed. However the pride and enjoyment I have over how the boat turned out made it all worth while.

There are many threads on the site about people undertaking this type of project. Not saying mine is anything special, but if you are bored, it might provide some insights. It might not. But the fun thing is that mine is done :) and that might provide some inspiration.

http://www.donzi.net/forums/showthread.php?58186

Keep posting pictures. And you will see I didn't put any structural support in my hull, and that made for some interesting wrestling when I went to put the deck back on.

[CHACHI]

atrides, where are you, on the Vineyard?

Ken

[atrides12]

[ QUOTE=$originalposter]{$pagetext}[/QUOTE]
as a matter of fact i am on the vineyard, was it the edgartown marine sign that gave it away? are you here as well?

[atrides12]

some more photos of the paint coming off along with the finished pictures and a picture of the spot were the old Donzi sticker was, its just barely visible.
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[atrides12]

(soooooooooo
You got quite a project here. What are you thinking about doing? Whats the end result in your head at the moment? At this point you are free to do what ever you want. Period correct restro? Restro mod? What's the power/drive gonna look like?

Being you have a blank slate with this. I would suggest a thought out plan. Stick to it and watch the budget.)



definitely a resto mod, I'm putting in a omc 4.3. i would like to make it as original as i can (obviously with in reason) I would like to get the original style stainless gauge panel and the wrap around handrail but i think i would have to have one custom built

[Carl C]

I didn't know that you had already come this far with the project. Looks like a good start. There are lots of resto threads here and lots of knowledge!

[silverghost]

I believe that Buizilla (JIM) has , or had, an old wrap-around Donzi 16 cockpit rail for sale from his project ?
I seem to remember his post about it ?
Don't know if he still has it or not ?
I'm sure he will chime-in about it soon as he is always on this website.

It might be tougher for you to find that missing Donzi 16 engine hatch cover.
New hatch covers are very expensive !

Why did you choose to grind-out the Outside of the transom to replace it's rotted wood core ?
Most grind out the Inside of the transom fibeglass core lay-up to replace a rotten transom wood core.
You should also check the aft part of the engne bed's stringer wood core areas where the stringer's wood core meets the transom's wood core.
This is a very common rot area in these old Donzi 16 & 18 boat hulls.
Wood rot travels from the transom into the aft stringers because of un sealed wood-to wood contact.

[CHACHI]

atrides, no I am not at the Vineyard, but have been there a few times.

Heading to Yarmouthport this weekend.

Ken

[mike o]

Was in NH a while back. Good luck, I see your marching along with it.

[atrides12]

(I believe that Buizilla (JIM) has , or had, an old wrap-around Donzi 16 cockpit rail for sale from his project ?
I seem to remember his post about it ?
Don't know if he still has it or not ?
I'm sure he will chime-in about it soon as he is always on this website.

It might be tougher for you to find that missing Donzi 16 engine hatch cover.
New hatch covers are very expensive !

Why did you choose to grind-out the Outside of the transom to replace it's rotted wood core ?
Most grind out the Inside of the transom fibeglass core lay-up to replace a rotten transom wood core.
You should also check the aft part of the engne bed's stringer wood core areas where the stringer's wood core meets the transom's wood core.
This is a very common rot area in these old Donzi 16 & 18 boat hulls.
Wood rot travels from the transom into the aft stringers because of un sealed wood-to wood contact)

the hatch actually did come with the boat but someone put a big hump in it to fit a motor i guess, it wasn't bonded with the hatch very well the bottom was fiberglassed but the top was just bondo so a few hits with a gamer and it came right out. i used aluminum flashing to round out the new fiberglass to match the curve of the hull, the aluminum worked pretty well the glass was nice and smooth so i won't need to do much sanding until i paint it. i knew i should have cut out the inside transom skin but the saw i had was just to big. the transom wasn't rotted it was the hole that was to big for the omc drive i have so i had to enclose the old volvo cutout. the stringers are pretty solid, they haven't been cut or drilled to much and they sound rock solid but i will deal with that once it is flipped over.
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[BUIZILLA]

the rail went to another board member for his restoration :shades:

[atrides12]

would you happen to know where i can find one, or do i have to have one custom made?

[Morgan's Cloud]

When I saw the first set of pictures I thought 'He'll never know where to start'
but it looks like you're not afraid to sieze this project and run with it.

If you're not familiar working with glass , you're going to be an expert when this is over. Just be prepared to dig deep looking for rot , don't take any shortcuts now. And that includes the deck coring. Remember , fibreglass is infinitely repairable. So get a good gringer and go nutz .

As for the savings of doing it yourself .. If you can do EVERYTHING on your own it will be a massive saving , but there's always stuff that some people (myself included ) don't or can't do. Wiring , upholstery , actual engine installation ..maybe the final coat of paint ..
You could save tens of thousands doing all of the structural and glass work ,disassembly, reassembly yourself but still end up paying out $30,000 in the end.

Find out how Just Say N20 did his and get photos ..especially the finished product. THAT'S what you'd like to end up with ! !

[atrides12]

(When I saw the first set of pictures I thought 'He'll never know where to start'
but it looks like you're not afraid to sieze this project and run with it.

If you're not familiar working with glass , you're going to be an expert when this is over. Just be prepared to dig deep looking for rot , don't take any shortcuts now. And that includes the deck coring. Remember , fibreglass is infinitely repairable. So get a good gringer and go nutz .

As for the savings of doing it yourself .. If you can do EVERYTHING on your own it will be a massive saving , but there's always stuff that some people (myself included ) don't or can't do. Wiring , upholstery , actual engine installation ..maybe the final coat of paint ..
You could save tens of thousands doing all of the structural and glass work ,disassembly, reassembly yourself but still end up paying out $30,000 in the end.

Find out how Just Say N20 did his and get photos ..especially the finished product. THAT'S what you'd like to end up with)


I know what you mean, when i got the boat home and took a closer look i thought (now what?!) so i looked at other restoration projects out there and kinda got the idea of where to start, stripping the damn paint off was a huge pain it took me at least a week and a half to do the hull and half the topside. originally it was white with a light blue stripe down the middle, i thought about painting it the original design but the white with blue stripe didn't do it for me. i decided on bright rochelle red with a white stripe, I'm going to use interlux perfection. i'm still trying to figure out how to make the bow rigid enough to walk on it used to have balsa core but i think someone took it all out because its just 2 glass skins, i was thinking about cutting out the inside skin and framing it out in wood then glassing the skin back on.
the dash was a mess somebody really butchered it, wherever the id number was they cut it out long ago, a lot of patching went into the dash (some people shouldn't be allowed to own boats).

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[f_inscreenname]

If the core is gone and both skins are there I would foam it.

[Just Say N20]

This is going to sound self promoting, but that is not my reason for suggesting that you take some time and read through some of the resto-mod projects others have done. I put a link to mine in a previous post.

My dash was a mess, although maybe not quite as bad as yours is, but you can see how I repaired it. Not saying thats the best way, but it might give you some ideas.

Also, regarding your deck. Mine is a 1967, and in 1967, DONZI didn't use coring on the underside of decks. My boat has just the fiberglass and then they glassed 1-1/4" PVC pipe or plastic pipe to the underside of the deck. I've heard, through people familiar with the boat before I owned it, that the deck supported people walking on it. I'm not big on walking on the deck for a variety of reasons, so I have never done it. I also moved the gas fill from the middle of the deck, where I couldn't reach it without a ladder when the boat was on the trailer, to right in front of the drive near the edge of the deck. Again there are pictures of it. Perhaps you could do something like my deck, rather than balsa coring it.

Did you make the cut that shows along the left edge of the under bow ski locker, and along side of the foot rest? Not sure why that was done. The deck and cockpit are a single unit, and the foot area and ski storage area are a separate piece that are roughly glassed to both the hull and the cockpit tub so they form a single unit, and then the deck was put on.

Anyway, it looks like you are making tremendous progress. No such thing as a dumb question. You will find many on this site more than willing to offer help. Most here love to see a DONZI classic brought back from being almost certain landfill fodder.

I think you will like how the 16 runs with a V6. I have run both, and the V6 runs flatter. At rest, side by side, I could see the stern of my boat was much lower in the water from the weight of the V8, making the bow point up. The V6 sat very level at rest. It also seemed to be less of a handful at full throttle. Mine had about 80 hp more, but was only about 3 mph faster than the V6. He could out pace me in the no wake zones big time. His went through the water like a canoe. Any throttle on mine and the stern started burying itself in the water, making a wake.

Below is a picture of me really enjoying running the V6 Sweet 16. You can see that even flying, it is pretty darn level.

[atrides12]

(((This is going to sound self promoting, but that is not my reason for suggesting that you take some time and read through some of the resto-mod projects others have done. I put a link to mine in a previous post.

My dash was a mess, although maybe not quite as bad as yours is, but you can see how I repaired it. Not saying thats the best way, but it might give you some ideas.

Also, regarding your deck. Mine is a 1967, and in 1967, DONZI didn't use coring on the underside of decks. My boat has just the fiberglass and then they glassed 1-1/4" PVC pipe or plastic pipe to the underside of the deck. I've heard, through people familiar with the boat before I owned it, that the deck supported people walking on it. I'm not big on walking on the deck for a variety of reasons, so I have never done it. I also moved the gas fill from the middle of the deck, where I couldn't reach it without a ladder when the boat was on the trailer, to right in front of the drive near the edge of the deck. Again there are pictures of it. Perhaps you could do something like my deck, rather than balsa coring it.

Did you make the cut that shows along the left edge of the under bow ski locker, and along side of the foot rest? Not sure why that was done. The deck and cockpit are a single unit, and the foot area and ski storage area are a separate piece that are roughly glassed to both the hull and the cockpit tub so they form a single unit, and then the deck was put on.

Anyway, it looks like you are making tremendous progress. No such thing as a dumb question. You will find many on this site more than willing to offer help. Most here love to see a DONZI classic brought back from being almost certain landfill fodder.

I think you will like how the 16 runs with a V6. I have run both, and the V6 runs flatter. At rest, side by side, I could see the stern of my boat was much lower in the water from the weight of the V8, making the bow point up. The V6 sat very level at rest. It also seemed to be less of a handful at full throttle. Mine had about 80 hp more, but was only about 3 mph faster than the V6. He could out pace me in the no wake zones big time. His went through the water like a canoe. Any throttle on mine and the stern started burying itself in the water, making a wake.

Below is a picture of me really enjoying running the V6 Sweet 16. You can see that even flying, it is pretty darn level.)))

I've definitely been checking out restoration projects all over the net as well as here (very nice work by the way) i just wish i had a garage to work in because i work depending on the weather. For a while there i was searching for a v8 just to get more power but i came to my senses, i found an omc 4.3 on ebay a few weeks back, unfortunately it has a chipped piston but no cylinder damage the reserve was $60.00 for that cheap i wasn't going to pass it up and its work that I'm able to do on the motor so i bought it. I think i made the right decision getting the 6 instead of 8, although i would love to have that deep v8 sound. I don't think i would want to walk on the bow but i would like to have the reassurance that i can without destroying the paint job, i was thinking of running one stringer down the middle, framing it in wood the same way yours has pvc then i would glue the bottom glass skin back on. the pvc is definitely a good idea, how rigid do those pvc pipes make the bow? you wouldn't happen to know where i can find an aluminum gas tank? I'm beginning to think i will have to have one custom built.

[f_inscreenname]

I'm beginning to think i will have to have one custom built.


Now you are talking about real money.

I'm like you with no garage (killing me today being I need to finish paint and it's raining). You can check out what I do at http://www.resurrectionmarine.com/

[Just Say N20]

how rigid do those pvc pipes make the bow?

you wouldn't happen to know where i can find an aluminum gas tank? I'm beginning to think i will have to have one custom built.

There was some slight deflection in the glass the ONE time I crawled out on the bow. Nothing that concerned me.

There are a couple of places that make replacement tanks for the DONZI Classics. I got a quote from a local aluminum tank builder, who has done marine tanks for about 30 years, and did a lot of work for Tiara Yachts. He quoted me $325 to reproduce the tank I had, which holds around 24 gallons.

gcarter might chime in about tanks, and locations to get one that you know will fit properly.

[atrides12]

[ There was some slight deflection in the glass the ONE time I crawled out on the bow. Nothing that concerned me.

There are a couple of places that make replacement tanks for the DONZI Classics. I got a quote from a local aluminum tank builder, who has done marine tanks for about 30 years, and did a lot of work for Tiara Yachts. He quoted me $325 to reproduce the tank I had, which holds around 24 gallons.

gcarter might chime in about tanks, and locations to get one that you know will fit properly.]


good lord thats cheap, i got a quote from a marine tank shop for $1000 this guy complained to me for a good 10 minutes on how much of a pain in the butt it would be to build. as for the cut on the ski holder and foot rest somebody who owned it before me did that, i can't imagine why there wasn't any damage anywhere on the footrest. glassing it back together was a pain, clamping it to keep it still was even worse, i screwed some stainless L brackets on the ski holder to join with the footrest then i glassed over them to make it more secure. by the way thats an awesome picture, how fast can you be going to make a turn without loosing control?

[atrides12]

((If the core is gone and both skins are there I would foam it.))

that was one of my first ideas, i figure it wouldn't be to difficult and it might absorb some of the vibration, i think it would be a good idea if i put some bolts through the 2 skins to keep them from bulging out with foam, do you have a type of foam you like best that you would recommend?
that supernova 19' looks awesome!

[f_inscreenname]

Thanks!

type of foam you like best that you would recommend

US Composites http://www.uscomposites.com/foam.html

[mike o]

Take a REALLY good look @ the expansion rates + PHYSICAL PROPRIETIES of those foams above........:wink: Or..........:nilly:

[MDonziM]

Nice project, great progress so far. I replaced 2 custom 50gal tanks 2yrs ago that cost $400 each and thats on Long Island where nothing is cheap. $10 per/gal should get it done. The orig 25gal or so would be ok with a v6 but used to go pretty quick with a v8. Space permitting I'd try to get more like 30+ gal. As said there are plenty of 16' resto threads with tank replacement. I owned Just Say N20's 16 back in the 80's. The deck would flex quite a bit and I was 160 lbs then. I'm not sure how effective the pvc reinforcement was. When needed you would crawl out there, standing up is an adventure that can easily end with bouncing off you head or a$$ into the water.

[atrides12]

I recently cut out the hole for the outdrive, it took me a while to measure everything, leveling and making sure the cavitation plate would be at the right height but it finally came together. i put seacast blocks where the outdrive bolts would be, drilled the holes and fiberglassed the skins together so once its painted i wil be able to pour the new transom, it came together relatively easy and the outdrive fits in nicely. i just got back from ohio with the omc 4.3 that i purchased on ebay, the motors in nice shape with about %1 corrosion now i need to replace the one piston. does anyone know where i can find a piston for an 87 omc 4.3 gm motor?
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[silverghost]

Why was the piston in the replacment ebay auction engine cracked in the first place ?

Did this engine have an exhaust cooling water reversion & ingestion issue in that one cylinder ?

Is there any cylinder block bore damage, ie: scoring scrapes, or cylnder wall cracks in that cracked piston's cylinder bore ?

How did the ebay seller explain the cracked piston damage to you ?

Any Chevy/GM dealer , NAPA auto parts store etc, should be able to order you a new stock stye 4.3 GM piston.

[atrides12]

[[Why was the piston in the replacment ebay auction engine cracked in the first place ?

Did this engine have an exhaust cooling water reversion & ingestion issue in that one cylinder ?

Is there any cylinder block bore damage, ie: scoring scrapes, or cylnder wall cracks in that cracked piston's cylinder bore ?

How did the ebay seller explain the cracked piston damage to you ?

Any Chevy/GM dealer , NAPA auto parts store etc, should be able to order you a new stock stye 4.3 GM piston.]]


He emailed me that one cylinder had low compression so he removed the head and one piston had a small amount of chipping, he bought a boat with the motor included, when he started the motor he said there wasn't any nocking noise.
He found the low compression and checked the cylinder. he suspects that water leaked into the piston and so on. there isn't any damage to the cylinder fortunately the walls look untouched. I'm debating doing this project on my own but I'm a little wary because of everything thats involved, i don't have an actual shop and I've never done this kind of thing before, but i guess i might as del learn sometime, if the block turns out to be crap i can always just purchase a replacement and swap all the outsides.

[atrides12]

Its been a while since my last post i was busy with summer work and preparing for school. I moved to orlando fl for a year and enrolled at MMI (marine mechanics institute) so I put the boat back together and shrank wrapped it to keep it safe until my return next september. In the meantime ive been trying to find an engine shop in the new england area that has the capabilities of building me a custom reliable high performance engine. If anybody has any ifo that could help it would be greatly appreciated.