Donzi 16 Timeline - The Boats Built During 1964

[Greg Guimond]

...................
Hull 1. Original B+W Press Release photo boat – Photo shows the “longer” inner strakes & Volvo model 100 drive. Deck stripe runs down through the dash. Michael Aronow writes of taking a test run with his Dad in his book KOTBR. Date of B+W photo unknown, but must be snapped after May 5, and before October 5, 1964. First dated photo found is 10/23/1964.
100% Confirmed

Hull 2. Teknikens Varld Magazine boat - White w/ Red deck stripe only. New "shortened" inner strake change & single thru hull exhaust in photo. No Grab Rail. Boat shipped to Volvo HQ Sweden for tests which was likely hastened by the 10/1/64 USA Longshoreman's strike. Current owner is Thomas Rönnberg, last known location Sweden five years ago. Gone dark.
100% Confirmed

Hull 3. Jim Wynne driving photo boat - White w/ Red deck stripe & red waterline stripe. Speedo to right of helm. Inner strakes not clear but look to be "short" in photos. Drive ID'd as Volvo Aq200 Euro "loaner". Design using Volvo only power changed due to dockworker strike, Eaton V8's worked into production. No Deck Grab Rail. Photos thought to be Sept/Oct '64.
100% Confirmed

Hull 4. Allan Brown driving boat - White w/ Green deck stripe only - Powered by Eaton Manufacturing package based on the 260 cubic inch Ford V8 Interceptor motor producing 165hp and Eaton Powernaut flip up drive. No Deck Grab Rail. Again, the iconic color photograph of both Brown and Wynne running side by side thought to be taken September/October 1964.
100% Confirmed

Hull 5. Jacksonville Boat Show boat - White w/ Blue deck stripe thru dash & blue waterline stripe. Brownie at show on 11/13/64 after running Miami to Key West race weekend prior. Shown in 4 Page Color Brochure behind El Camino, & on Travel-Lift run by Shorty. First Aq200 production drive ever shown publicly in USA - No Deck Grab Rail. ID provided by Brown.
100% Confirmed

Hull 6. Bob Cox and Ed Joyce boat - Initially raced a Formula 233 then Bob became the first Donzi dealer in Florida and the US. No photo of this boat at Lauderdale Marina found so far. This hull had the "Hot" Volvo 110/100 package. Deck Grab Rail unknown. ID provided by F. Darwick. Jim Giannell writes about testing it with Cox in 1/29/65 issue Fort Lauderdale News.
100% Confirmed

Hull 7. Fred Darwick boat - Ordered new, Invoice No.67 dated 12/10/64 shows $3,095. Photo with #11 shows it's White w/ Green deck stripe & green waterline stripe. No Deck Grab Rail. Fred & Judy entered the 1/2/65 Orange Bowl 9 Hour race and won. Written on invoice was "Hot Volvo". Package had twin 2 barrel side draft Solex carbs, modified cyl head & valves for higher compression, water jacketed dry exhaust manifold. Power was now 140hp with changes. AQ100 lower was delivered with totally custom 3" longer torpedo to lessen cavitation.
100% Confirmed

Hull 8. David Ray boat - White w/ Blue deck stripe. Short inner strakes. Initial power another "Hot" Volvo 110/100 package. Sold to David Ray by Don Aronow with Fred's help. Boat exists in Merritt Island today under a different owner. Also had the special race AQ100 drive in storage today 2019. Boat delivered with a custom transom mounted water intake tube.
100% Confirmed --- Being removed from the 1964 build list based on the existing AQ100 drive PZNr 31661 decoding to .......... 1965

Hull 9. New York Boat Show 16 – Color was white with a blue stripe. Show started January 13, 1965 in a blizzard. Could it have then continued North to the Shepherd boys or was an entirely different '64 hull shipped up to Canada? No, this boat never went to Canada and was most likely shown at the "Chesapeake Bay Boat Show" in Maryland which started Feb 4.
100% Confirmed

Hull 10. All Black boat - Initially revealed and discussed in a single newspaper article talking about a jet black 16 at the January, 1965 New York Boat Show. This led to inclusion in the '64 Build List. Only that one article published in February refers to a black hull so confidence only 25%. Update Edit 1: An early All Black hull has been located in MA and is undergoing research. Confidence 50%. Update Edit 2: Have full confirmation that boat was viewed at Donzi's Miami plant on February 4, 1965 but was not at NY Show. Black with silver deck stripe.
75% - 4 week gap still creating some doubt.

Hull 11. Monumental Discovery Boat .... aka MDB!
50%

[jl1962]

Greg-

Thanks again for this opus.
It's been a great read, exhaustive and thorough.

And a good time to bring it to a close - Spring Training has begun, it's almost baseball season!

[axelkloehn]

Ab long and exciting wintertime research, it got me inspired and I was glad being of help in a few cases. Well done Greg!!

[Just Say N20]

Tireless work Greg.

I hope it is preserved forever. The amount of effort and time required for such a project is enormous, and much appreciated.

[Greg Guimond]

..........
Thanks, it certainly rose from the ashes more than a few times. Appreciated the help received along the way from certain folks. Never could have done it over the years without the sporadic insights of big AB. In fact, what started it all off was the mention of the 200 drive, interpreted the wrong way, for so many years. Brownie is 85 years old this year and sharp as a tack. His ability to remember the smallest details is amazing as is his storytelling!

After seeing White Tornado docked down at Ocean Reef I was able to get Sammy James on the phone to ask some questions. I'll never forget Sam saying through the phone "Young man, you have to understand we will all be pushing up daisies before Brownie!".

[Greg Guimond]

...............

[Greg Guimond]

..............
So now in the final push to the finish line (please make it stop lol) I come back to the all Black 16 discovered about a year ago sitting under a tarp waiting to be reborn. Over the months I helped the current owner do some discovery work on it. One piece of that puzzle was that coat after coat of paint was hiding a silver deck stripe. That stripe was done in the gelcoat 100% and would play a key role later in identifying the boat. For a time I thought it might have been the NY Boat show mystery boat. For an even shorter time, Dr. Trosts black 16 until Axel found the Trost descendants and with his great help I spoke to Andreas Trost, Dr. Oskar Trosts Son and we excluded the Trost boat that survived in a photo.

Today, the probability of that jet black boat being a 1964 build is up to 75% IMO. The back story on it is very wacky, and leading into the black 16 is a short vignette about a totally different 16. When I discovered the different boat (found after the all black 16) it was actually beyond monumental. This particular 16 is as if it came off the showroom floor last year. It's simply amazing with every bit and piece intact. In researching it, the current owner was good enough to disclose a ton of information. Included in that were invoices, and the comments that the boat has only been used a dozen times since it was bought brand new. Not only is the boat in perfect shape today, it also has the original trailer it came on. He owns the definition of a true time capsule. It's been kept in a heated garage all these years.

So, turns out that the gent who bought it told the story about riding his motor scooter in 1965 to Donzi's factory and running into a Black 16. The story was as clear in his mind as if it were yesterday, amazing. The main reason he recalled the all black 16 hull is that he only buys his cars in black so it caught his eye. I can relate as I only buy black cars but I digress. When he got closer to the all black boat he noticed it had a silver deck stripe but that the black finish was a little "off". He talked to someone at the factory (could it have been Gene Schoell who ran the glass operation?) and asked about the gelcoat and that person agreed it was not right. He then asked "when will the next 16 be available?" and the guy at the yard said he'd talk to Don Aronow and to come back the next day. My contact did exactly that and bought himself a new 16 Ski Sporter that day. He picked that boat up on February 5, 1965 and dragged it home. He remembers it like it was yesterday.

Fast forward 54 years. Kept under high secrecy, Monumental Discovery Boat (aka MDB) is a story all its own BUT what is fact is that the black 16 was there at the Donzi factory before MDB. The guy who owns MDB today recalled being bummed that he couldn't buy the black boat. I'm not sure he recognizes he has the most historic 16 in existence and it's a secret.

So, given MDB was towed out of the 188th St yards on Feb 5th, 1965, at what point did the bare hull come out of the mold? One thing is for sure though, the Black 16 was out of the mold before MDB as it had already been sitting there for a bit. And Brownie fully confirmed the black 16 being built back then, and also recalled they had problems with the black gel.

Hmmmmm ...................

[Rob M]

Greg,

Without reading back through 52 lengthy posts...i don't have it in me...what approx year would you date this boat based on the Eaton Drive, transom vent, strangely positioned thru hulls and lack of deck vents. Not mine, and I know little to nothing about this boat. Just figured it is perhaps part of the puzzle you are piecing together.

Thanks

Rob

[Rob M]

Greg,

Without reading back through 52 lengthy posts...i don't have it in me...what approx year would you date this boat based on the Eaton Drive, transom vent, strangely positioned thru hulls and lack of deck vents. Not mine, and I know little to nothing about this boat. Just figured it is perhaps part of the puzzle you are piecing together.

Thanks

Rob

Never mind - turns out its a 1966 Donzi/Shepherd

[Greg Guimond]

.......
I have photos of Hull 10 being sent. This could conclude the project and fully verify the count.

Hull 1. Original B+W Press Release photo boat – Photo shows the “longer” inner strakes & Volvo model 100 drive. Deck stripe runs down through the dash. Michael Aronow writes of taking a test run with his Dad in his book KOTBR. Date of B+W photo unknown, but must be snapped after May 5, and before October 5, 1964. First dated photo found is 10/23/1964.
100% Confirmed

Hull 2. Teknikens Varld Magazine boat - White w/ Red deck stripe only. New "shortened" inner strake change & single thru hull exhaust in photo. No Grab Rail. Boat shipped to Volvo HQ Sweden for tests which was likely hastened by the 10/1/64 USA Longshoreman's strike. Current owner is Thomas Rönnberg, last known location Sweden five years ago. Gone dark.
100% Confirmed

Hull 3. Jim Wynne driving photo boat - White w/ Red deck stripe & red waterline stripe. Speedo to right of helm. Inner strakes not clear but look to be "short" in photos. Drive ID'd as Volvo Aq200 Euro "loaner". Design using Volvo only power changed due to dockworker strike, Eaton V8's worked into production. No Deck Grab Rail. Photos thought to be Sept/Oct '64.
100% Confirmed

Hull 4. Allan Brown driving boat - White w/ Green deck stripe only - Powered by Eaton Manufacturing package based on the 260 cubic inch Ford V8 Interceptor motor producing 165hp and Eaton Powernaut flip up drive. No Deck Grab Rail. Again, the iconic color photograph of both Brown and Wynne running side by side thought to be taken September/October 1964.
100% Confirmed

Hull 5. Jacksonville Boat Show boat - White w/ Blue deck stripe thru dash & blue waterline stripe. Brownie at show on 11/13/64 after running Miami to Key West race weekend prior. Shown in 4 Page Color Brochure behind El Camino, & on Travel-Lift run by Shorty. First Aq200 production drive ever shown publicly in USA - No Deck Grab Rail. ID provided by Brown.
100% Confirmed

Hull 6. Bob Cox and Ed Joyce boat - Initially raced a Formula 233 then Bob became the first Donzi dealer in Florida and the US. No photo of this boat at Lauderdale Marina found so far. This hull had the "Hot" Volvo 110/100 package. Deck Grab Rail unknown. ID provided by F. Darwick. Jim Giannell writes about testing it with Cox in 1/29/65 issue Fort Lauderdale News.
100% Confirmed

Hull 7. Fred Darwick boat - Ordered new, Invoice No.67 dated 12/10/64 shows $3,095. Photo with #11 shows it's White w/ Green deck stripe & green waterline stripe. No Deck Grab Rail. Fred & Judy entered the 1/2/65 Orange Bowl 9 Hour race and won. Written on invoice was "Hot Volvo". Package had twin 2 barrel side draft Solex carbs, modified cyl head & valves for higher compression, water jacketed dry exhaust manifold. Power was now 140hp with changes. AQ100 lower was delivered with totally custom 3" longer torpedo to lessen cavitation.
100% Confirmed

Hull 8. New York Boat Show 16 – Color was white with a blue stripe. Show started January 13, 1965 in a blizzard. Could it have then continued North to the Shepherd boys or was an entirely different '64 hull shipped up to Canada? No, this boat never went to Canada and was most likely shown at the "Chesapeake Bay Boat Show" in Maryland which started Feb 4.
100% Confirmed

Hull 9. All Black boat - Initially revealed and discussed in a single newspaper article talking about a jet black 16 at the January, 1965 New York Boat Show. This led to inclusion in the '64 Build List. Only that one article published in February refers to a black hull so confidence only 25%. Update Edit 1: An early All Black hull has been located in MA and is undergoing research. Confidence 50%. Update Edit 2: Have full confirmation that boat was viewed at Donzi's Miami plant on February 4, 1965 but was not at NY Show. Black with silver deck stripe.
7/22/20 Update moved to 100% Confirmed based on observations by Hull 10 owner.

Hull 10. Monumental Discovery Boat .... aka MDB.
50%; 7/22/20 Update changed to 75%; 12/20/20 Update changed to 90%

[c-ski-donzi]

Greg, your tenacity is amazing! Thank you for all of the effort and research you have put in, in this pursuit of history! I have followed this thread and gotten HUGE enjoyment out of the uncovered facts, odd tidbits of possibilities and conjecture, and stories from storytellers....it has all been extremely entertaining, as well as informative. Again, although I may not always agree with your assertions, I profusely appreciate, and thank you for your efforts. I always keep an eye out for updates to this thread, hoping for possible updates on the George L boat, and the MDB!!! Although I have not been a big poster, I have spent a ridiculous amount of time following and researching the very early Ski Sporter over the last 18 months. I hope to contribute some very pertinent information in the near future about 1965 production....and I truly hope you are part of the conversation! I have been in the process of "not restoring" an extremely original, very early 16 (fall 65) over the past year+ , that is likely one of the most unmolested in existence (with all due respect to MSD, which is likely #1). I hope to start a spirited discussion maybe this fall, concerning 65 production, and about my particular Ski Sporter, which I call, the "Benchmark 16". More to follow, and thanks again for your efforts and contributions, Colin

[Greg Guimond]

Greg, your tenacity is amazing! Thank you for all of the effort and research you have put in, in this pursuit of history! I have followed this thread and gotten HUGE enjoyment out of the uncovered facts, odd tidbits of possibilities and conjecture, and stories from storytellers....it has all been extremely entertaining, as well as informative. Again, although I may not always agree with your assertions, I profusely appreciate, and thank you for your efforts. I always keep an eye out for updates to this thread, hoping for possible updates on the George L boat, and the MDB!!! Although I have not been a big poster, I have spent a ridiculous amount of time following and researching the very early Ski Sporter over the last 18 months. I hope to contribute some very pertinent information in the near future about 1965 production....and I truly hope you are part of the conversation! I have been in the process of "not restoring" an extremely original, very early 16 (fall 65) over the past year+ , that is likely one of the most unmolested in existence (with all due respect to MSD, which is likely #1). I hope to start a spirited discussion maybe this fall, concerning 65 production, and about my particular Ski Sporter, which I call, the "Benchmark 16". More to follow, and thanks again for your efforts and contributions, Colin

Thank you Colin for the kind words. And in return, an early Christmas gift from the MDB vault for fact chasers on both land and sea

[chip w]

That's beautiful and an appropriate color for this time of year. For the next week I believe we could call that "sleigh red".

[c-ski-donzi]

Greg, that is awesome! I have been wondering about this boat, and you have provided a FINE Christmas gift! That boat looks incredible. I need to get going on a thread for my 16, but am also excited about the MDB!!

[jl1962]

More like Monumental Research Effort!


Thanks, Greg, now get your own 16 finished.

Merry/Happy, Everyone