Donzi 16 Timeline - The Boats Built During 1964

[Greg Guimond]

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I poked around on Shongut Marine and it led me to the article below. Evidently, right after the New York show shut down on January 24, 1965 there were two very good size boat shows that started up on Long Island on January 30. Given time to set up, that's 5 days after the NYC show concluded. I wonder of Donzi decided to take there boats to Long Island given how close it was to NYC and the fact Don was a next door Brooklyn boy?
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[Greg Guimond]

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An email with a bit of insight on the first Ski Sporters from Charlie Strang, ex CEO of OMC ...............

From: Ron
Date: Thu, 31 Oct 2013 15:56:22
To: Greg Guimond
Subject: Fw: Gerry and 16' Donzi?

Here's the answer to your question!

--- Forwarded Message ---

From: (Strang)
To: Ron
Sent: Thursday, October 31, 2013 3:40 PM
Subject: Re: Gerry and 16' Donzi?

Hi- No, Gerry Walin had nothing to do with the 16 foot Donzi design.
The boat was designed for Don Aronow in Miami by Jim Wynne and Walt Walters. Jim did the concept work and Walt did the actual design. The original boats were for stern drives.
After the first boat was built from the drawings Don asked Wynne and me to come to his plant to see the seating arrangement he had installed in that first boat. It was during that visit that the Donzi name was first used.
This was in 1963 or 1964 or thereabouts after I left OMC. I kept a set of the original blueprints for the little Donzi and gave them to OMC when they bought Donzi. I was still on the OMC board at the time although no longer an employee.
Who knows what happened to those drawings when OMC went bankrupt about a decade later!

Regards,
ChasS.

[Greg Guimond]

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The first day of Spring is less than a month away so updating the 1964 build list. 9 boats are now confirmed 100% ............. so far.
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Hull 1. Original B+W Press Release boat – Photo shows the “long” inner strakes & Volvo drive. Mike Aronow writes of taking a test run with his Dad in KOTBR. Date of B+W photo unknown, but must be snapped after May 5, and before October 5, 1964
100% Confirmed

Hull 2. Teknikens Varld Magazine boat - White w/ Red deck stripe only. New "shortened" inner strakes & single thru hull exhaust in photo. No Grab Rail. Shipped to Volvo Sweden for tests which was likely hastened by the 10/1/64 Longshoremans strike
100% Confirmed

Hull 3. Frank Civitano Sr boat - Solid green w/ Red deck stripe. Frank's Dad was personal friends with Don A from construction. Boat was used for Summer of '64 in Southern NJ. Motor, drive and Deck Grab Rail Unknown. Photo lost in Superstorm Sandy
50% - Definitely existed but still somewhat suspect as a 1964 build

Hull 4. Jim Wynne driving boat - White w/ Red deck & red chine 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. No Deck Grab Rail. Photos thought to be taken Sept/Oct '64
100% Confirmed

Hull 5. Allan Brown driving boat - White w/ Green deck stripe only - Ford Eaton 260 cu inch V8 165hp motor & Eaton flip up drive. No Deck Grab Rail. Again, color photo of both Brown and Wynne running side by side thought to be taken Sept/Oct 1964
100% Confirmed

Hull 6. Jacksonville Boat Show boat - White w/ Blue deck stripe thru dash & blue chine stripe. Brownie at show on 11/13/64. Shown in Four Page Color Brochure with El Camino, & on Travel-Lift. First Aq200 production drive in USA - No Deck Grab Rail
100% Confirmed

Hull 7. Bob Cox and Ed Joyce boat - No photo of hull at Lauderdale Marina found so far. Initially they raced a Formula 233 then became the first Donzi dealer in Florida. "Hot" Volvo 110/100 package. Deck Grab Rail unknown. ID provided by F. Darwick
100% Confirmed

Hull 8. Fred Darwick race boat - Invoice #67 dated 12/10/64 shows $3,095. Photo of hull marked with race #11 shows it as White w/ Green deck stripe & green chine stripe. "Hot" Volvo 110 (made 140hp) & special race Aq100 drive. No Deck Grab Rail
100% Confirmed

Hull 9. David Ray boat - White w/ Blue deck stripe. Initial power also "Hot" Volvo 110/100 package. Sold to David Ray directly by Don Aronow with Fred's help. Boat still exists in Merritt Island today under a different owner. Race Aq100 drive in storage.
100% Confirmed

Hull 10. New York Boat Show 16 – Color was white with a blue stripe. Show was Jan 13, 1965. Could it have then continued North to the Shepherd boys or was an entirely different (and additional) '64 hull shipped up to Canada? woobs asking TIBS
100% Confirmed

Hull 11. Second New York Boat Show 16 - Did it exist, get sold and sent South? Only Brownie would remember if there were two Ski Sporter’s in the booth next to the $8,000 green 19' Hornet. Donzi had two booths at the show.
90% - Brownie email last week recalls one or two and Scott Bolts says two

Hull 12. Canada Shepherd Ltd boat - Was it solid yellow? woobs has made contact with Jim Hahn Jr., whose Dad managed Shepherd Boats at this time. They'll meet to review old Donzi partnership papers that still exist for added clues sometime in 2016
50% - Pending review of the 50 year old cottage papers as TIBS show was a full month later than originally thought

Hull 13. All Black boat - Was this yet another totally different 16 or was the reporter calling it black when it was actually another dark color? Only one person in the world would know
25% - Only one article refers to the black hull. Looking for a second

[Greg Guimond]

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This article does not help with the 1964's specifically but it has some interesting build numbers ........

[Greg Guimond]

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And another article from a different paper one week later ...............

[Greg Guimond]

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Almost time to close out this thread as first day of Spring is March 20th. Here's the exchange that I was able to have with Frank C about his Dad's 16. Very nice of him to share what he recalled for the history books.

Thanks Frank!

[jl1962]

Shongut was just down the road from us.
I grew up in Harrison. But my dad bought our '67 Ski Sporter, in late '68, from a dealer in LI that was going out of business.

Blue Ski Sporter (932x1280).jpg

Whatever happened to the '64 Ski Sporter that is/was for sale in FL?

[Morgan's Cloud]

Is it just me or does Frank C's explicit use of the term 'production Donzi' change this whole time line discussion ?

[Greg Guimond]

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Here is the exact color combination of Frank Civitano's fathers Ski Sporter including the tan interior.

[Greg Guimond]

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Another missing link in the 16 timeline is Doc Magoon, close friend to Don Aronow.................

[Greg Guimond]

Whatever happened to the '64 Ski Sporter that is/was for sale in FL?

I dunno.........BUIZILLA said he had gotten a call about that happening but personally I have not seen anything surface. That 1964 is alive and well though in Florida, that I do know. It has the time capsule OEM grabrail.

[Greg Guimond]

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With only 18 days to go before Spring and the banter cut off date, it would be so much easier if a picture like this one of the 16 taken at the 1966 NYC Show surfaced for the 1965 Show.

[Greg Guimond]

Is it just me or does Frank C's explicit use of the term 'production Donzi' change this whole time line discussion ?

Interesting .............

I was thinking about that briefly as well but came to believe this about Frank's recollections. While his Dad's boat is off the list as it was not built in 1964, it makes sense that Don told his good friend that it was roughly the 4th production 16 boat. Don and the boys probably did not think "production" until they realized that people wanted what they had. They had been building the Ski Sporters all along, but were almost totally focused on the 28's as those 28's were kicking ass across all of the races in 1964. They had five 28's built and running. Fred Darwick told me that when he told Don Aronow he wanted a 16 Don asked him what he was going to do with it. Fred replied "race it" so that got Don's attention. Then ........ Fred and Judy went out and won in the 16 on January 2 and a legend is born.

All that said, the building of the Ski Sporter is incredibly consistent over time so a Ski Sporter is a Ski Sporter until you get to my boat with a pad ten years later. From the 1st hull in the timeline, the only thing that gets an adjustment are the two lifting strakes. Frank Sr's boat was most likely built and bought in March, 1965 and probably was the very first Ski Sporter with a car motor by H/M. Shame the photos are lost forever.

[Greg Guimond]

Thanks to Frank C for his cooperation and info but have to remove his Dad's 16 from the build list .............
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Hull 1. Original B+W Press Release boat – Photo shows the “long” inner strakes & Volvo drive. Mike Aronow writes of taking a test run with his Dad in KOTBR. Date of B+W photo unknown, but must be snapped after May 5, and before October 5, 1964
100% Confirmed

Hull 2. Teknikens Varld Magazine boat - White w/ Red deck stripe only. New "shortened" inner strakes & single thru hull exhaust in photo. No Grab Rail. Shipped to Volvo Sweden for tests which was likely hastened by the 10/1/64 Longshoremans strike
100% Confirmed

Hull 3. Jim Wynne driving boat - White w/ Red deck & red chine 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. No Deck Grab Rail. Photos thought to be taken Sept/Oct '64
100% Confirmed

Hull 4. Allan Brown driving boat - White w/ Green deck stripe only - Ford Eaton 260 cu inch V8 165hp motor & Eaton flip up drive. No Deck Grab Rail. Again, color photo of both Brown and Wynne running side by side thought to be taken Sept/Oct 1964
100% Confirmed

Hull 5. Jacksonville Boat Show boat - White w/ Blue deck stripe thru dash & blue chine stripe. Brownie at show on 11/13/64. Shown in Four Page Color Brochure with El Camino, & on Travel-Lift. First Aq200 production drive in USA - No Deck Grab Rail
100% Confirmed

Hull 6. Bob Cox and Ed Joyce boat - No photo of hull at Lauderdale Marina found so far. Initially they raced a Formula 233 then became the first Donzi dealer in Florida. "Hot" Volvo 110/100 package. Deck Grab Rail unknown. ID provided by F. Darwick
100% Confirmed

Hull 7. Fred Darwick race boat - Invoice #67 dated 12/10/64 shows $3,095. Photo of hull marked with race #11 shows it as White w/ Green deck stripe & green chine stripe. "Hot" Volvo 110 (made 140hp) & special race Aq100 drive. No Deck Grab Rail
100% Confirmed

Hull 8. David Ray boat - White w/ Blue deck stripe. Initial power also "Hot" Volvo 110/100 package. Sold to David Ray directly by Don Aronow with Fred's help. Boat still exists in Merritt Island today under a different owner. Race Aq100 drive in storage.
100% Confirmed

Hull 9. New York Boat Show 16 – Color was white with a blue stripe. Show was Jan 13, 1965. Could it have then continued North to the Shepherd boys or was an entirely different (and additional) '64 hull shipped up to Canada? woobs asking TIBS
100% Confirmed

Hull 10. Second New York Boat Show 16 - Did it exist, get sold and sent South? Only Brownie would remember if there were two Ski Sporter’s in the booth next to the $8,000 green 19' Hornet. Donzi had two booths at the show.
90% - Brownie email last week recalls one or two and Scott Bolts says two

Hull 11. Canada Shepherd Ltd boat - Was it solid yellow? woobs has made contact with Jim Hahn Jr., whose Dad managed Shepherd Boats at this time. They'll meet to review old Donzi partnership papers that still exist for added clues sometime in 2016
50% - Pending review of the 50 year old cottage papers as TIBS show was a full month later than originally thought

Hull 12. All Black boat - Was this yet another totally different 16 or was the reporter calling it black when it was actually another dark color? Only one person in the world would know
25% - Only one article refers to the black hull. Looking for a second

[Greg Guimond]

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Still nothing further on the "jet black" Ski Sporter mentioned below so holding that one at 25% thinking the reporter was perhaps color blind.