First Donzi ever built?

[Just Say N20]

Hull 409 was my boat.

I should have updated the records on that boat when I had access to it.

[mattyboy]

ok let's see if I can capture a better pic of the time frame

first production boat nov 64

hull 145 delivered july 65 hull 136 on same order

nov 65 sale to teleflex

hull 384 first hull built in 67

hull 477 last hull built in 67


from 7-65(hull 145) to 7-67 (hull 440) they made almost 300 hulls

crunching the numbers they were avg'ing as high as 20 and as low as 10 a month on just the 16 models

[Greg Guimond]

ok let's see if I can capture a better pic of the time frame ...........

So from the time Alan "Brownie" Brown of Florida showed the first production 16 I/O in November of 1964 at the Jacksonville boat show, to the last hull shipped in the 1965 calendar year, how many 16's do you reckon were built total?

[mattyboy]

That info is in one of the large hole in the early records they were close to 20 hulls a month at that time so a WAG could be made based on that and 145 in July

[mattyboy]

another fun fact to get your head around

they could start and finish a 16 in 5 days think about that hull 392 started on Friday March 3 1967 and finished on Wed March 8 1967 well 5 days if they worked weekends if they had weekends off make it 3

[Greg Guimond]

That info is in one of the large hole in the early records they were close to 20 hulls a month at that time so a WAG could be made based on that and 145 in July

So ........ based on your knowledge and the archive data, is it fair to say (and Alan Brown could confirm tomorrow) that from the first hull being shown in Jacksonvile late 1964 to the last being built and shipped FOB in late December of 1965, there would be 135 hulls total thru 1-1-1966?

[mattyboy]

So ........ based on your knowledge and the archive data, is it fair to say (and Alan Brown could confirm tomorrow) that from the first hull being shown in Jacksonvile late 1964 to the last being built and shipped FOB in late December of 1965, there would be 135 hulls total thru 1-1-1966?

hull 145 delivered in july of 65 hull 136 same time frame so they were at least making 10 a month with that avg add 5 months to Dec 65 and 50 boats looking at approx 200 hulls or if you take the avg for the prior 8 months of about 18 boats a month and you are in the area of another 90 boats or approx 235

[Greg Guimond]

So, I think what you are saying is that from Jax 1964 to 12-31-65 there were roughly 235 Donzi 16 hulls built?

[mattyboy]

What I would say is there are no historical records that are exact for that time frame

what I would be safe saying is there would be approx between 190 and 250 made by the end of 65 and that the factory records indicate that hull 366 was completed before jan 31 1967

[woobs]

Matty, I'd say your math is right in the ball park. Although I'd lean towards the lower number closer to 200 (or lower). This because there is a learning curve while producing anything and they probably got better at it as time moved along.

IF we arbitrarily said say, 190 boats by Dec 31, 1965... if hull 384 is the first of 1967 (presuming 383 is last of 1966) 193 boats for 1966 at an average of 16 per month.
This follows for 1967 with the final hull of made that year being 477.
Subtract from hull 383 and get 93 for 1967.

Here's my best guess:

1964 = built 20 (total 20) @ 10 per month [Hull #1 - #20]
1965 = built 170 (total 190) @ 14 per month [Hull #21 - #190]
1966 = built 193 (total 383) @ 16 per month [Hull #191 - #383]
1967 = built 93 (total 477) @ 8 per month [Hull #384 - #477]

Of course, these numbers are all just "ball park" estimates and in no way represent what actually was produced... But as there's no way to know for sure it's fun to speculate.

[jl1962]

Pretty good timeline guys!

Two more data points: Bob in Covington believes his green Ski Sporter, hull 226, was built in 1966, and Bob Davis' 1970 was hull 600 - production really started to taper off.

Matty - thanks for your tireless, volunteer IT (and all round almanac-like general knowledge)- hope you get the website up soon.

[Greg Guimond]

What I would be safe saying is there would be approx between 190 and 250 made by the end of '65 and that the factory records indicate that hull 366 was completed before jan 31 1967

Matty, I'd say your math is right in the ball park. Although I'd lean towards the lower number closer to 200 (or lower). This because there is a learning curve while producing anything. IF we arbitrarily said say, 190 boats by Dec 31, 1965... then hull 366 would indicate 176 more in 11 months or an average of 16 per month for 1966.


Here's my best guess:

1964 = 20 (20) 10 per month
1965 = 170 (190) 14 per month

Interesting. I believe Allan Brown showed the first production 16 I/O in May of 1964. You'd have to assume he went to Jacksonville with zero backlog and hope, and left with a handful of orders from customers. I'm thinking there were no more than 200 hulls built by 12/31/1965

[woobs]

Interesting. I believe Allan Brown showed the first production 16 I/O in May of 1964. You'd have to assume he went to Jacksonville with zero backlog and hope, and left with a handful of orders from customers. I'm thinking there were no more than 200 hulls built by 12/31/1965

I think also at this time the deal with Shepherd must have been a priority as the first 16 moulds used were sent to Canada in 1964. I'm sure they didn't send the only moulds and were probably looking to sign up more builders.

[mattyboy]

so how do you figure the rest of the model lineup had a play in this ?????????

[woobs]

so how do you figure the rest of the model lineup had a play in this ?????????

Well, I know Shepherd also built 18's (a year or so after they started with the 16) but no other Donzi models. So, I imagine the license was by model line. 16's were the first Donzi product, the least expensive, they were the most marketable to a general audience and had the greatest demand. They had immediate interest and quickly became popular and Donzi became fashionable. When you have a winner... you run with it. They did, and the 16 was the volume leader (or cash cow).

I would also speculate that Donzi knew you can't survive long term as a "one trick pony" so at its inception a lineup of four models was launched. Bigger boats have better margins but lower volumes. A full line-up would also have given the fledgling company an immediate level of credibility combined with the reputation of Aronow, & co. The Donzi brand would have been instantly more marketable too. The 16 may have been the key to their meteoric rise but, the rest of the model lineup was to be the key to the future.

My theory is... retail sales were probably necessary for cash flow while they looked for other builders. When it looked like no more viable/suitable builders (other than Shepherd) were forthcoming , retail became the mainstay and soon the company was up for sale.

Of course all this is conjecture from a Monday morning quarterback with some historic tidbits of information combined with some business theories. It could be total bull ...