Any wood in the 1995 Donzi BlackHawk Editions

[bgiles]

Hi there , kicking around the idea of selling my Checkmate for a 1995 Donzi BlackHawk Edition. Not sure if there is any wood construction in these boats that I should be aware of. As we know, Checkmates have wooden floors which one has to be careful of for rot, especially in the older ones. I feel confident about hulls, engines, trailers etc but I'm not sure about the overall construction of these boats or possible things to watch out for, it's the things you can't see that comeback to haunt you.

Any feedback is well appreciated ...


Thanks

Bruce

[Tidbart]

There is wood coring in the deck, hatch, transom. Not that old a boat, so shouldn't be an issue, but worth looking at.

I would be concerned about it being a Blackhawk. They are very different boats than the 22C. They handle quite differently and you will need a lot of seat time to learn how to handle it.

Make sure you really want this style of boat.


Bob

[bgiles]

Thanks Bob for the information .. really appreciate it !! ... the real attraction is the colour /graphics combination with the extra bit's and pieces that went into that particular model. I have read that the "BlackHawk" drive system is unique and requires a little more attention but I'm really just the guy that trailers it to a location and goes for a 2 /3 hour joy ride, not really concerned about reaching maximum performance levels, although it certainly comes with enough kiddy up to do that.

Decisions Decisions Decisions ....

Thx again

Bruce

[Tidbart]

Do a search of this site for some posts about handling. It may help make up your mind.

Also, a 1995 502 mag mpi, if that is what is in it, may require the heads to be redone. The springs get tired after a while. And, if you have drive or prop issue, you may have a hard time finding parts. They are becoming more scarce. Something to consider.

B

[VetteLT193]

There have been a couple converted to Bravo 1 drives... they tend to sell for much less money.

Parts aren't so bad as the internals are pretty identical to the Bravo 3. The biggie from a cost perspective seem to be props.

[roadtrip se]

The Blackhawk hull is a miserable experience when converted to a Bravo drive. Hunts and porpises all day long. Not an alternative at all, to fixing the drive it is supposed to have. As for the transaction prices, at that point, I am sure people are just trying to get rid of them.

As for stick-built versus fiberglass built, I don't think anything in the Classic line is fiberglass. Not an issue if kept dry and a good reason to hire a surveyor on a used boat. I have seen Blackhawk boats with rotten stringers and transoms.

[bgiles]

Hi Guys, thanks for all the feedback .. really appreciate it !! I was back on the lake with my Checkmate Pulsare 21 today and saw a couple of Donzi 22 classic's, I got to say .. they look terrific both just docked and cruising. Sounds like the Blackhawk's could be a handfull from a learning perspective and getting props etc. Appears like the build is similar to the Checkmates where wood plays a major role and if not carefully looked after .. trouble lurks. I got lucky on my Checkmate and with my 225 Johnson 225 HO outboard.. it moves along quite nicely since the hull only weighs in around 1300 lbs or so.

Looks like if I want to avoid wood, maybe the 22zx's are the alternative, although you lose the sleek lines of the classic series. I"ll keep poking around. Just saw the post from GCarter on his rebuild, that was perfect, as it shows how the boat is put togeather. My big concern was the floor, which looks like they are fibreglass but as we know, not much good if the wood stringers are rotten but it certainly makes it a little more difficult to infiltrate the floor when they are fibreglass versus the wood used in my Checkmate. Glad I saw that .. it gives me hope in my search,` just need to find one that's been looked after.


Thx again


Bruce