23' center console Donzi fishing boat

[RickyR]

Nice boat,
Looks very similar to my old one, but it isn't.
I had a 250 EFI also, and it ran great. I was getting 1mph/1k rpm with an 18" Mirage.

We also had a grey one that was bought new in 1988, we towed behind the big boat, it had a 225 Johnson, not sure what it had for a prop. It ran in the high 40's or so. It ran all through the Abaco's and was a perfect boat for our use.

Good luck with the restoration..

Ricky
PICT0010.JPGDonzi Sarasota 2 resize.jpgPICT0032.JPG

[Conquistador_del_mar]

Wow Ricky,
With the exception of the different tops, they look the same. I think it will make a near perfect fishing boat for my wife and me. Apparently, those of you who have had or still have them really like them - I will, too -

[Conquistador_del_mar]

The transom and bulkhead are now rebuilt. I have also removed the hardware, sanded, and applied a coat of Sikkens Cetol to the teak bow pulpit. I am about to get to some fun projects like installing the new Bennett ST-9 trim tabs, the Lowrance transducer, new battery tray, fuel filter, oil reservoir and battery switch after painting under the aft side hatches. I have also polished the plexiglass windshield, bow access door, and console door. It should start coming together soon after I have it all detailed - Pictures will be coming. Bill

[Conquistador_del_mar]

I am well on my way with the Donzi fishing boat. The console is compounded with Starboard custom built plates under the Lowrance 110 GPS/sonar (10.4" color TFT screen), new 4500 series Merc throttle, new Bennett Euro trim tab and power outlet, new storage bin under the gauge cluster, all new gauges and switches, windshield and storage locker plex door installed after compounding. One of the pictures shows the bow pulpit sanded with Sikkens Cetol applied. A Starboard panel built and installed on the back of the leaning post. The motor cover is sanded and painted with Imron. I am just about to start with all the wiring under the dash and then detailing the rest of the boat. Onwards! Bill

[Conquistador_del_mar]

Just a quick update that I should be finished and ready to use the 23' fishing boat within a month. Pictures will be coming soon. This will be fun with our striped bass hitting well right now - . Bill

[Conquistador_del_mar]

I finally pulled the 23' Donzi fishing boat out of my shop this afternoon to fire it on the hose and make sure everything was working. Almost everything on the console is new along with many other parts on the boat so it needed a quick check before it goes to the lake. I spent quite a bit of time restoring it to this condition and I really like how it turned out. The GPS picked up the location quickly and the engine fired right up, but I installed the shift cable on the wrong lever in the new shifter so forward was reverse. No big thing to change. All the gauges seem to work perfectly and the running motor brought the voltage to 14V on the gauge. Here are a few pictures of it almost completed. I still have to mount some motorwell boots and cable sleeving and install a new ss polished plow anchor that has not arrived yet, but it is just about ready for the first lake test. Yippee! Bill

[CHACHI]

Bill,another beauty, congrats on a job well done.

Ken

[JimG]

Awesome job!

[Jraysray]

Man, you do some great work. JimG did you get on this boat? It was for sale next to the boater resale shop.

[Conquistador_del_mar]

Thanks guys. I went back out last night and installed the motorwell boots. I should mention that when Donzi made the boat there was no way to fill the back livewell except for filling it by hand. In the pictures you can barely see the 5/8" ID brass fitting near the bilge drain hole that I installed. It has a hose connected to the bottom drain of the back livewell so it can fill on its own and drain when I put it back on the trailer. If you don't need water in the livewell, you can install a plug in the livewell drain. I throw for shad while fishing for striped bass here at Lake Texoma so the livewell function is important to me. The 10.4" TFT screen Lowrance GPS/sonar fishfinder is fairly awesome with lots of resolution and options which I really look forward to trying out. It is a used and discontinued one, but it still cost $1050 - cheap if it shows what I think it will - Bill

[Ghost]

What they said, another beauty. Very nice work.

[Conquistador_del_mar]

Thanks again, guys. I corrected the shifter linkage this afternoon so it should now be ready for another test on the hose when the rain stops. I made the mistake of adding up all my expenses. I have about $11,500 tied up in the boat at this point which I think is reasonable for what I now have. As soon as possible I want to see if it can catch fish - . Bill

[Kappytan]

Very nice. I can only hope my project turns out as well!

[Conquistador_del_mar]

We plan to take the Donzi 23' out on Thursday if the weather holds and the two dental implants I had installed this afternoon don't bother me too much. Yippee! I will give a report of our first outing using a Mirage Plus 21P that I bought on ebay. Bill

[Conquistador_del_mar]

My wife and I took out the Donzi fishing boat for the first time this afternoon and it could not have gone much better. Everything worked perfectly except the temp guage which never moved off the low end. We didn't even get out of the marina before some friends called me over to their dock and complimented me on my "new" Donzi - lol. It drove like a champ in the really rough windy chop and the trim tabs came into play both leveling the boat and leaning it against the oncoming waves at times. The 1995 Mercury 250HP started right up and never missed a lick. It hit 51MPH on the GPS against the wind at 5100RPM so I think the prop is a little too much pitch. We ended up running for about 4 hours non-stop and caught about 7 striped bass trolling including a nice 5+lb. At the ramp I pulled the bilge plug and dropped maybe a cup of water which most likely came through the motorwell access plate. Overall I could not be any more pleased with it! I took some video shots which I will load to Youtube and post later. Onwards, Bill