Barn Find Part 2

[Rob M]

Thanks to all for the kind words on this boat - they are appreciated. Apologies for the delay in posting a response. Matty and Scott, thanks also for the offers of assistance (and the name) - I will probably call you up on them! I will try to answer as many questions posed above in one thread - for convenience. Hopefully they can help to add another piece to the story of these great boats.

This boat is from Maryland. I made an epic road trip Saturday (almost worthy of RudeBuoy's) down to MD. Swapped trailers and was done with the operation in one hour. Back up yesterday - hauled it along the Appalachian Hwy. and thru Buffalo into Ontario. No issue at customs - they thought I was crazy for buying 'that old boat'. The gentleman I purchased it from - a great character who has lived a rough and tumble life - bought it in 1976 from around that area. Prior to that it likely had 2 owners. He was told it was once a tender for a large yacht owned by a member of the Rockefeller family (probably not true but a good tale). While in his care the boat saw time in the MD area - mainly on Chesapeake Bay, and also spent time in FLA. It was overhauled in the early nineties with the drive rebuilt, a paint job, new upholstery, and lexan windshield. As he has grown old so has the boat - it has sat - sinking in his 'back 40' for about 15 years.

The good news - the boat was cheap, and is all original in configuration - all hardware, gauges, outdrive, engine are original - very little is missing. The bad news - it is beat, and needs a full restoration. Somewhere in its life someone decided to secure the deck with approximately 300 screws above and below the rubrail. Engine has not turned in 15 years. Same with outdrive. Trailer was a POS. You get the idea. But I knew all this well before heading down.

Details are as follows:

• Titled as 1965 - may or may not be true
• Serial #s - TBD - the boat is full of dirt and mud, and it is below zero so I have not crawled under the deck to look
• Engine is the original Mercury 60 - Renault 80 HP
• Drive is original Mercruiser with a cable and crank - will get a serial number when I get a chance
• Engine hatches are dual/butterfly style - one has some delamination
• Original colour - TBD - probably same as the paint job, you can tell from the engine hatch area that the stripe was always red. Not sure about the hull though.
• Hull sounding is good - these are solid little boats, issues will be where the through deck/hull fittings were. Some delamination under the dash edge too. Transom sounds good.
• Stringers - unknown, have not crawled in there yet, although there is tons of room to do so.

That's it for now. My plan is to get the boat to a local resto shop for a review of what a proper restoration will entail (though I have a good sense of the $$$ based on past discussions). There are several in Ontario who do very good work - including the guys who did Bill S's old Corsican. It won't be cheap either way, so we will see. I have no desire to put Coca Cola stripes or any other mods on the boat. My preference is as close to original as possible. That includes gel vs. paint - and the original engine and drive if they can be made operational.

I was glad to finally find one of these, as I have been looking for well over 10 years.

Here's a few added pictures:

[that guy1]

This boat is not in that bad of shape..it looks like it can be easily restored..the hull still looks very solid! What are your plans for this boat? Sell it, restore it?

[that guy1]

Please disregard my last post. I was too busy drooling over the pictures and I did not read your paragraph about your plans. My mistake! AWESOME BOAT!!!

[silverghost]

Rob~
Congratulations ~~~Great Find !

How did you hear about the Florida registered boat in Maryland~~~~From way up north in Canada ?

How on earth ever did you track it down ?

It would appear that most of these Baby 14's that were ever produced still seem to exist, or have at the very least been completely accounted for .

From Baby 14 threads posted earlier here on this forum it would appear that possibly only TWO of these Donzi Baby 14's might still be lurking out there somewhere hidden away & still be un-accounted for by Donzi collectors. (not counting Cigarette branded Baby 14s )

WoW~~~ TWO still missing Donzi Baby 14s out of the original production of less than 15 of these boats were ever produced.

What are the odds of finding another new & undiscovered Baby 14 ?

[badbird]

What a find ....one more question....how did you find out about this little gem ???

[mattyboy]

It is amazing when a true Donzi nut puts it in their mind to get a model they love time and space mean nothing 10 years and to be rewarded with a true piece of history very nice work Rob.
One story I am trying to track down and this is an unconfirmed story the 14 baby was dropped from the line up due to an accident and that the boat was dangerous. The story goes on to say that a guy died in one
Some other facts the f14 was made in greater numbers maybe a more balanced boat or maybe fishermen are better drivers. The big thing would be the 18 hull bottom was redesigned around the same time. The barrelback and the 14 share the same bottom design sharp 24 degree full length inner strakes. There are stories about the barrelback being redesigned cause it may roll in tight turns. I don't know til I track all this down but in my mind this story may have some teeth. The chisholms dropped the 16 over a lawsuit so that reaction may be possible. Also think about it Brownie said they gave the molds and unfinished boats to Don when he left so it seems like they didn't want the baby. Who knows I'll keep you posted

[Greg Guimond]

Rob that is a great post and it is awesome to see you searched for a decade and were rewarded with a truly unique piece of history. A deck off resto is the only way to go for this piece. The story reads like a Norseman descending into the lower 48 for the "pick" of a lifetime!!

[bertsboat]

Brownie tells the story of the first Baby 14 launch:
We finished the Baby late on a rainy night. Don was very excited about this little boat. So much so that he wanted us to drop it in the water for a test ride, raining or not. So we dropped it in and started it up and Don headed out the canal heading for Dumfounding bay. He was gone for quite some time and when he got back he was soaking wet.
Because it was raining, Brownie thought nothing that he was soaked to the bone. So Don say's to Brownie " take this thing out there and open it up and jerk the wheel all the way to one side and tell me what you think" So the Brown Houndjumped inand did just that and when he did that little Donzi (he says they called it Peanuts) proceded to roll over and spill his big ass right into the dark water. He made it back to the boat and eventually back to the dock where Don was anxiously waiting for his return.
Don says " what did you think??" Brownie told him what had happened when he pulled the wheel all the way over. "that thing rolled right over and threw me right out" Don's reply was "MEEE TOOOO (ha ha ha)" It was even funnier when Brownie tell it.
The moral of the story, there is a fine line here. The boat is deep and short. I have this thought in my mind when I run mine. I am waiting for this problem to rear its ugly head. At least I know about it. I think I know exactly where it might happen and I am watching out for it. I imagine that if I were in the air and I come down a bit off track that is when the sharp V would bite and throw the hull over but that has yet to happen, and I am avoiding that event.

[bertsboat]

About the vin numbers. Only the Baby Donzi's that were built at the Cigarette facility were adorned with a VIN number. Mine ending in the number 14 and Scotts ending in the number 13. Before that a VIN was not required so the only numbers would be on the original title or registration, depending on what state your were in. Mine is titled in the state of Florida with the original VIN attached to the boat and to the title. I would be interested to know what is on the title of the "barn find". Please let us know. Very cool find. You must have been very excited when you had it hitched up and knew it was really a done deal. Maybe some day there will be several of these Baby's somewhere at the same time. That would be really cool. I know I will be there too.
Bert

[mattyboy]

Brownie stories are great

The HIN on pearson's boat has no 3 in it is CRT140011277 this is on the title and the bill of sale from Cig not imprinted on the hull as the hull was built in 67 and dragged around with Don.

which translates into

CRT= Cigarette Racing Team

14= Model

001=hull number one

12= Dec

77= model year


and I think this is a pic of your HIN CRT 140011278 imprinted in the hull from the mold which would indicate to me your boat was built at cig in 78
http://www.donzi.net/forums/attachme...0&d=1226266038

[roadtrip se]

Awesome boat with a lot of history. Congrats on the find and knowing what you are signing up for. I hope to get to see it one day.

[silverghost]

So it may now appear that this find may really possibly be a Cigarette Baby 14 ?

How many Baby 14s did Don actually build after the molds were taken to his new boat company~~ Cigarette ?

[mattyboy]

[ QUOTE=$originalposter]silverghost

So it may now appear that this find may really possibly be a Cigarette Baby 14 ?

How many Baby 14s did Don actually build after the molds were taken to his new boat company~~ Cigarette ?

{$pagetext}[/QUOTE]


Brad don't go off on a tangent Rob's 14 is a baby donzi

my response was directed at bertsboat and his post on VIN. so there is no confusion the two HINs and boats I was referring to were Scott Pearson 1977 cigarette 14 and Bertsboat's 1978 cigarette 14. so we are all clear on this is what I am saying :

Pearson's 14 was popped from the mold at the donzi plant in the 60s before the mandatory HIN stamp in the hull was even thought of. it went unsold and was confirmed by a former Cig employee who moved it around the parking lot that it followed Don around for 10 years. then they finally rigged and sold it. bertsboat's 14 was never at the donzi factory and was not around in the 60s. his boat was popped from the mold at the cig factory in 78 from the original molds or from a plug taken off of Pearson's boat .

for any new boat to be sold by a mfg'r after nov of 1972 it needed a valid 12 character HIN mandated by the USCG so when the cig factory sold Pearson's boat to the first owner it is given the HIN of CRT140011277 then in 1978 the factory popped a 14 ( bertsboat) from the mold and cast in the mold the HIN of CRT140011278. I think it should have been CRT140021278 as the second cig 14 hull but really it was the first 14 actually made by cigarette. so this might have just been an oversight and well once it is in the mold it is in the boat so no going back.

[Scott Pearson]

Robs boat is a very early Donzi. His is the only other that I have seen with the flat split hatch. Richard Weaver has the other flat hatch one in storage.

[bertsboat]

As far as I am concerned they are all Donzi. When the CRT boats were made Don didn't own Donzi. So they couldn't be labeled Donzi. They are out of the same molds and by the same designer and owner, Don Aronow.
As far as this one being a Cigarette or a Donzi, by the time they were made at Cigarette they were only using Mercruiser engine and drive. The 80HP Mercruiser weas Renault based engines and they had a lower position in the engine compartment. That's why there were no scoop in the engine hatch. The 120 Mercruiser is about 3 inches too high for the original hatch to close so they added the scoop. This is an original 14 Baby Donzi. Possibly even one of the earliest. In the original brochures the hatches were split down the middle. Every other one that has been found and restored have the one piece hatch with a scoop. So, I am thinking this may be number one.