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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.
1972 16 OB - C16B-63 - "Surface Tension" Resto Project
1974 16 OB - DMR16106017-B - "The Mule"