Doral 24 SS Brochure and Review

[Rembrondt]

I just bought a 1974 Doral project hull (no engines). It needs a lot of work but I'm thrilled. The seller had the original press release, brochure and boat test review from 1973. I scanned them to share here:

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more pics to come
Gary M

[Rembrondt]

More pics:

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[Rembrondt]

...and here's my project:

[Tidbart]

The hull looks to be in decent shape. Good luck with you project.

Bob

[olredalert]

----You will have to get hold of Smidgen too here on the board as he has a Doral configured the same way yours is, with Volvos, etc. Add to that; he has just finished a mini-resto on it and you can find out some of the pitfalls inherent in any Donzi 24 ft model. Get his phone # as you guys will have to talk. I have also restored a 24, but an El Pescador and also know most of the problem areas. Mine started life as a Merc powered 24 and still is. As a starter; I can almost guarantee that the transom will be soft due to the inherent problems with the methods used to manufacture these 24 footers back then. Its fairly easy to repair and even upgrade, but you need to have some input before you start......Bill S

[Rembrondt]

Thanks Bob,
Thanks Bill,

Yes, you are right about the transom. No joke, there are small weeds growing from the wood where the outdrives were! I'm just happy and honored to have one of these hulls - wanted one for many years. If possible, I'd like to remove most of the wood from the deck and hull, and rebuild it with composite stringers and foam core. Whatever it takes... It'll look good when it's finished. Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

Gary M.

[olredalert]

----Gary,,,I have done almost exactly what you are proposing to my other 24, the Spitfire. Where are you from? The place that did all my hull restoration has now done two complete Spitfire restos and really knows his business. Hes located near me in Marysville Mi. Company name is RCS Yacht Refinishers. You absolutely wouldnt believe the quality of his workmanship. His name is Ryan Smith and his # is 586-725-2628. Tell him Bill Stephenson said to call.........Bill S

[Rembrondt]

Thanks Bill,
I live in South Carolina now. I grew up in Miami and the Florida Keys. My dad stored his boat at Apeco Marina in 1974 when I was 12. Donzi and Magnum were the envy of all in those days. I've seen their work (RCS) - it's very good. Is that blue Spitfire yours?

[olredalert]

----Gary,,,Believe it or not that blue Spitfire is one of Ryans early restos. Mine is about four steps beyond it, and about two shades darker blue. All closed cell foam, vacuum bagged, etc. The hull and deck are completely done but the boat is on the back burner for awhile as we finish up another resto on a Fino.
----I kept my 1st Donzi at Apeco way back in 69/70.
----If you have to do the transom over anyway you probably will put in modern power and will therefore have power trim. Trim absolutely unleashes a 24 Donzi. My El Pescador runs about 53/54 tucked in, powered with stock two-barrel 350 Merc Alpha set-ups. Hit the trim button and it runs right up tp 63/64 .....Bill S

[smidgen too]

Hi Gary sounds like you really want to rebuild your Donzi Doral right. Once you start to disassemble her you will see how they made the deck liner is a major part of this hulls integrity. The stringers stop at the engine bulk head. When Bill had his Spitfire done he ran full stringers to the bow. This is a great Idea but Dorals have there fuel tank in the cockpit floor witch may prohibit this.. I did not have any trees growing in my transom but you could not find any wood that was solid. My goal was just to make her usable so I just redid the transom as I have 3 other offshores that I'm restoring. For a 24' boat the Donzi is a great ride, & nice usable cockpit. What drives are you going with ? I'm happy with my Volvo drives as speed is not my concern with this Doral, I will leave that for my Magnum.
Take and post pic's of your restoration, it should be a good one.
Mark

[Morgan's Cloud]

Just have to but in with my words of encouragement too. Those 24' hulls are beautiful and whether you decide to keep it or not , the all white is kind of refreshing. With a little new teak work and a new S/S rub rail it'll fire off quite nicely should you decide to go that way.

Just take your time and don't cut any corners . Putting a date in your mind as to when you want it to go over is not the best thing when doing a resto like that IMO. You'll always find another thing that comes up that will take yet more time and in retrospect you'll wish you had done such and such a thing or done it better.

Have you any ideas yet about what you're going to do for power ? ?
If you don't have any of the original components not to worry. There's been a huge advance made in single B/B power since that was built that would work very well !

[olredalert]

----A single wouldnt be a horrible idea but you would have to see the bilge to understand why it would be so difficult. Mark,,,do you have any pictures of the engine compartment center stringer??? MC would understand why its very difficult then......Bill S

[smidgen too]

Here you go Bill.

[Morgan's Cloud]

Just a thought ..that's all . 'Fibreglass ,the infinitely repairable material' .. lol

I'm just thinking that in the grand scale of things to restore to a twin engine installation simply because it 'came that way' , original engine room layout not discounted , could be a costly proposition when it comes to repowering. And of course a lot of guys go through the headache of going back to 'old' Volvos because of the transom cut outs when it's actually a small matter in relation to the rest of the restoration. And you could still possibly end up without the luxury of power steering and the hassle of a very cramped engine room , not to mention a very azz heavy 24 footer.

However , it's NOT up to me to tell others what they ought to do with their project . Just as long as it comes out da bomb ! :kingme:

[olredalert]

----You have valid arguements, MC, but the one I always come back to is what happens when your engine dies. I like having a spare, but thats me.........Bill S

[Rembrondt]

Thanks to all for the help and ideas!
Bill, sounds like that Spitfire was done right - yesterday's classic built new with today's know-how. It would be great to see some photos of the resto as it progressed.
My first choice would have been the El Pescador because of my fishing and diving background in Florida. However, I am happy to get my hands on any version of the 24 ft Harry Schoell designed hull. I removed the carpet (moldy mess) from the ceiling of the cabin and found some serious cracks along the line where the windshield is above. Also found some ceiling layers of roven have delaminated. The only thing I'm sure I will do with this boat is spend a lot of time and money on it. Single engine for less weight and more efficiency sounds good but (call me crazy), I've also considered converting the transom for a 30" shaft 300 hp outboard with a jack plate (or smaller twins). I'm not a fan of outboard transom brackets that hang the motors 3 feet back off the stern. The deck liner of a Doral and El Pescador are very similar. If the cabin top and windshield section are too far gone to restore, this boat may come back to life as an El Pescador. Share your thoughts if you think that would be a big mistake. I have thick skin ;-)

Gary M.

[olredalert]

----The inner liner is pretty much the same with a couple of differences that I can think of.
----1; In the El P the gas tank is probably 5 feet forward of where it lies in the Doral. Thats so that your cabin has that step down and therefore gives you the headroom you have. Also, the area occupied by the tank in the Doral is below the center console in the El P and all the harnesses and cables and stuff go thru where your tank is towards the stern. None of this is too big a problem unless you factor in not having the correct center console. The original console isnt a deal breaker, but would be cool as far as originality is concerned. The weight distribution is also a factor here. With the heavy deck on the front of the Doral you can move the tank back a bit, but in the El P you need the tank as far forward as you can get it. As far as I know the two tanks are not the same and one wont fit where the other is due to the shape of the inner hull.
----2; Probably a bigger deal is that the two storage lockers on either side of the cockpit in an El P are not configured into the Doral as the Doral was seen to already have enough storage with the cabin. As originally designed the El P is woefully lacking in storage space for "stuff". those lockers are really helpful for small stuff and paddles, etc. I actually built a front locker thats about 4 feet deep with a padded top to lay on in the bow for lines, anchor, life-jackets, etc. The El P also has a small storage locker all the way at the bow that sort of fits just like your deck with a small door that you dont have. As well, there is a foot deep filler panel across the deck at the stern that my engine hatch is hinged to. We made my full width engine hatch as my El P was originally equipped with twin 4 cylinder Mercs and had a box over them that wouldnt begin to cover the twin 350s.
----Its just me,,, but there are so few Dorals out there Id hate to see one that looks as good as yours disappear. At the end of the day its your boat though!!!

----I dont think Ill get into the egg-beater area as I have specific feelings against that which really dont apply........Bill S

[Rembrondt]

Good info Bill. Man, you know this boat! I hear what you're saying. LOL about egg beaters!
It's important to me not to mess up the balance of weight with the tank, forward top and motor(s).
Thanks again for your input.

Gary

P.S. There was a 1974 El P (bare hull & trailer $3900) recently listed for sale on Craigslist in FL. I posted twice in the classified section here but it hasn't shown up yet. Might need approval first?

[Morgan's Cloud]

So , you got thick skin eh ? If you put ouboards on that gem I'm never talking to you again ! How's that ? :kingme:

Bill , it sounds like the conversion you did with the engine hatch/box for your El P was very similar and for the same reasons that we did the switch on the Magnum.

As for the single/twin discussion (don't want to get into another OT thread here) I'm only suggesting to Gary (or anyone else) not to be held a slave to the original twin installation because the transom is already cut out for it when in the big picture a resto of this size will more than likely require a whole new transom from scratch so the owner will be starting with a blank sheet and could go in either direction . I admit , now having seen the pictures , that the original engine room setup is a bit more detailed than some , but if the transom has to be redone what's a little extra grinding/cutting and re-engineering of the engine beds ?
It's only time and a little money .. :wink:

[mphatc]

adding fuel to the fire for single vs twins

I have two Complete Volvo drives with transoms, intermediate shafts and Chevy Bellhousings to sell . . .

Cheap dollars, with props, including two Nibral props from my Magnum 27 . .

Mario L.

[outonsafari]

rembrondt,
if you are still in possession of the donzi doral project and are thinking / willing to sell
i am interested and sent you a pm with my contact info.

anyone else out there knows of a project doral i would appreciate hearing about it
thank you.