what has been the most significant donzi ever made?

[gcarter]

Mr. Carter; Now hold on a minute..
If you think the Criterion is useless as far as room,
you have never been in a Criterion SS, and the SS has twice as much room than the Criterion 11.........Ed

Ed, you know me better than that.
The seating position is not the best. Not only is it too far aft, but too close to the dash/wheel. The space available is not very useable.
But if I had the money, I'd definately buy yours if it were available.

[Ed Donnelly]

mattyboy; The Criterion 11 had the bar. That is why it was strictly a 2 seater.

Mr. Carter. My response to you seemed funny when I typed it. Yes, I do know you better than that

The Criterion is the roomiest of the 3 (just ask Randy)
The SS has the forward minny jump seat
The 11 You and a buddy, quick blast,then,back on the trailor....Ed

[mattyboy]

18 going going........

[Sagbay32]

I tried to think this one through before I voted. If I had read the 5 pages of opinions I would have been guided back to the 18. I chose the 22 because I thought it had the performance and styling easily won. The 22 in my book has the best lines of any boat built. I keep dreaming of owning a 22 and will stop the car and do a u-turn any time I see one be it for sale or just being trailered down the road.
If you take into consideration factors such as mass appeal and sales amounts, the 18 wins hands down.

So I vote to change my vote. (I'm so easily swayed)
Mike

[FISHIN SUCKS]

Okay Joel, I casted my vote along with you! I thought I might get a little help from Phil (PM), see if I give you and your son in law a ride again .

My 2 cents says that when I was a kid, at least 7 years prior to my widow being built, I loved the classics! Didn't matter what size, what color, what year, anything! I spent my summers growing up in Northern Michigan (lotta boatin' goin' on up there in the summer) with my 13' whaler (which I still have today), and whenever Donzi was mentioned, it was like saying 'E F Hutton', people listened. The classics paved the road for what we have today and kept the Donzi name going and I pay homage! While there were flops and stars along the way, I am happy my widow was built The compliments and respect never stop where we hang out, which says a lot about being a part of the Donzi Heritage!

[Rodger]

Going back a few replies to the question of when was the 22 hull introduced. It was 1978 with the introduction of the F22. Popular belief is that it was 1979 but that is not true.

[pmreed]

Tom, Tom, you're bustin' my butt. Riding with you and Barbie at AOTH was a blast...never said I didn't like the Black Widow, I do, I do!! And the train of babes coming from both sides of the raft-up to use your head was a real plus!! And they thought that smoked plastic was opaque.
I just remember seeing my first Donzi, an 18C, in Sanford, FL. Would have been about '72 when I had gotten out of the Navy. Everybody looked when it cranked up. I knew that one day, I'd have one of those...and I do, a 22C that is.
Phil

Hey Tom, looking forward to seeing you in August for the Corvette roundup.

[boatnut]

Interesting thread. In my opinion the 18 rules --- so I am very happy with the results so far. I find the arguments in favor of the 16 because it was first bogus in that if you had to vote for the most influential Chevy would it be the Corvette? or the 55 - 57 series, or the first Chevy (whatever that was). While some of the bigger and later Donzi's are clearly ahead of the classics in technology and performance, the classics are the mind-set of the Donzi mystique. And while the 22 (with more length and the same beam) is a nicer looking hull, the 18 looks good enough (better than the 16). To seal the deal, the 18 is the most fun (of any Donzi built including the non-classics) to take for that solo ride through sloppy water -- its handling and "feel" for the wave action is ahead of every other boat I have ever driven. The reward of driving a properly setup 18 exceeds the less responsive 22, it is more like taking a Porsche 911 through a winding mountain road. I'm hooked. Ed

[mattyboy]

the 18 guys have not answered my question
Do you get mad or insulted when an onlooker at the ramp/dock calls your boat a sweet 16, and don't try and tell me that has never happened

[EricG]

the 18 guys have not answered my question
Do you get mad or insulted when an onlooker at the ramp/dock calls your boat a sweet 16, and don't try and tell me that has never happened

No Insult to me...in fact, I usually don't bother to correct them, unless they ask if I redid the interior to replace the wrap around, then I say something about it actually being an 18.

Then again, I'm usually trying to explain that it is not in fact an Italian boat

EG
Wife: "Why is the steering wheel on the wrong side?"
Husband: "Because it's Italian, they must drive on the wrong side over there"

[mattyboy]

the question wasn't influential it was mass appeal so seems the masses have appeal for the 16 the criteria were performance mass appeal and impact on the boating industry yes the 18 might perform better than a 16 seems any newer zx is going faster farther in rougher stuff
plus i think the 16 really expanded the evelope there as people before were doing 30 in their runabouts til the 16 came along
so do I hear anymore from the 16 crowd???

[boatnut]

the 18 guys have not answered my question
Do you get mad or insulted when an onlooker at the ramp/dock calls your boat a sweet 16, and don't try and tell me that has never happened

We try to get them out on the water and show them that size does matter (up to 18' of course).

[Carl C]

Matty, it sounds like you voted for the 16 but look at the poll results: the 18C has run away with this one. It wasn't my choice but it's time to declare it the winner. BTW people can't believe that my boat is only 22 feet long and so I have to explain that it is actually 22 1/2 feet and that most boats now have swim platforms which are included in the length. A company doesn't stay on top by popping boats out of the same molds for 30-40 years It's the ZRs that are gonna keep Donzi on top. JMHO:lifeprese

[Rootsy]

Matty, it sounds like you voted for the 16 but look at the poll results: the 18C has run away with this one. It wasn't my choice but it's time to declare it the winner. BTW people can't believe that my boat is only 22 feet long and so I have to explain that it is actually 22 1/2 feet and that most boats now have swim platforms which are included in the length. A company doesn't stay on top by popping boats out of the same molds for 30-40 years It's the ZRs that are gonna keep Donzi on top. JMHO:lifeprese

true carl... the ZR is akin to todays vette... but put a 66 fuelie next to a new Z06 and see which one gets more attention

[MOP]

Looking over the production numbers tells me that in fact the 22 has done extremely well getting such a late start, 16's & 18's started in the mid 60's the 22 started late 70's. But no matter how you cut it the 16 was the birth of a very fine line of boats that we truely enjoy!

In my book the 16 wins!

No matter what you have now I wonder how many started off with the 16?