Donzi Delight!!!

[Paul65k]

Well..........I finally pulled the trigger and found the nicest little Donzi you can imagine:thumbsup:thumbsup

It;s a 1999 16' Classic that was totally babied by it's current owner with 90 total hours since new!!!

To say that it looks new wouldn't be fair because it looks BETTER THAN NEW.......I can't wait to take it for our first Havasu cruise!!!

I just met the guy and paid for it outside of Sacramento and Douggiebear is picking it up for me next week and will have it at the Palms next weekend......Can't wait!

I took it for a spin on Lake Folsom today and this little dude is pretty responsive with a Mercruiser 5.0/Alpha set-up and Bennett trim tabs.....this is one cool boat and a blast to drive!!!

I would never have even thought about a Donzi unless JBB and others had recommended that I look.....and what a cool boat.....less than 1/2 of what I would have spent to have a new 12' Schiada built and a boat that will definitely hold it's own on Havasu.....not to mention a piece of cake to launch and retrieve with the Rhino!!!

Thanks to everyone and look out for us on Havasu.

Hey Dave........I need to find an RD SUX sticker to go on the back

Cheers!

 

[Big Kahunaa]

cool boat great classic style and you will not have to worry one bit with Doug hauling it

 

[Zaairman]

Nice little boat. I hope to own a 22' Classic some day.

 

[Tom Brown]

Love it! I'm totally envious. :thumbsup

 

[Mini Kat]

VERY VERY NICE BOAT CONGRATS!!!!!! I think you'll be very happy with what the DONZI's will take.:thumbsup And clean is an under statement.

 

[Paul65k]

Thanks Tom,

You were definitely one of the guys that sent me in the Donzi direction....Woo Hoo!!!

 

[025]

I've spent alot of time around that size and the 22. The 22 can be difficult to drive but the 16' is bitchen. Throws a great wake to ski behind, uses little fuel but pretty fast. Congratulations on a great boat!!!

 

[Chestah Cheetah]

Congrats Paul. That is one classy looking rig.

 

[Tom Brown]

There was a guy on the Donzi forums who built an amazing 16. He made a cameo here on RDP. Neo.

Anyway, I think he put a blower on a small block and broke into the three digit league. :thumbsup

He must have lots of balls but the Donzi is probably more stable than my CVX at those speeds. Hell, a menstruating Gretchen Rossi would be more stable than my CVX above 80 mph.

 

[Paul65k]

Did you buy it off a guy in Redlands?

I've spent alot of time around that size and the 22. The 22 can be difficult to drive but the 16' is bitchen. Throws a great wake to ski behind, uses little fuel but pretty fast. Congratulations on a great boat!!!

No....this guy had an 18 Testarossa that was a little rough and he wasn't selling the 16....I talked him into selling


---
I am here: Google Maps

 

[spectras only]

Congrats on your sweet 16:thumbsup
Here's a wallpaper for your puter

 

[caribbean20]

Sweeeeeet 16! Congrats, great find. i remember seeing and hearing those Donzis hauling the mail across Lake St. Clair when I lived in MI. Always been on my wish list.

 

[GRADS2009]

I just met the guy and paid for it outside of Sacramento and Douggiebear is picking it up for me next week and will have it at the Palms next weekend......Can't wait!

I took it for a spin on Lake Folsom today and this little dude is pretty responsive with a Mercruiser 5.0/Alpha set-up and Bennett trim tabs.....this is one cool boat and a blast to drive!!!
!

You were out on Folsom Lake today and didn't notify me??? I could of showed you Pastie Cove!

Those Donzi's are super cool! conGRADS!:thumbsup

 

[Paul65k]

Congrats on your sweet 16:thumbsup
Here's a wallpaper for your puter

Done....thanks!

Technically the boat in the picture is a "Classic 16" not a "Sweet 16"....the sweet 16 has only one bucket seat for the driver and a wrap around bench....called a 1+3 vs. the 2+2 in the picture......now that I'm a Donzi expert......for a whole 8 hours anyhow

 

[J.T.]

That Donzi is Sweet. I always have loved Donzis Big and small.

 

[Paul65k]

Well......Douggiebear is 10 out with the boat.......plan to be cruising the channel later today

See y'all later!!!

 

[Paul65k]

Well Douggiebear got the boat here on time and in perfect condition......as you all said he would:thumbsup:thumbsup

We had a chance to hang out with him and Robin for a while.....good peeps....if you ever need a boat moved he is DEFINITELY the guy to call.

Doug was worried that he had a small bit of rain on the way down from Sacramento and took the time to wash the boat at his house in Havasu before he delivered it the next morning.

So in any case we got the boat in the water around 3 and proceeded to take a quick trip to the city and a loop through the channel.....saw MiniKat go by the other way BTW.

What a blast to drive.....16' deep V with a small block V8.....whoa what a blast!!!

Only bummer was the rear seat cushion flew out on a high speed run and we didn't notice until we were pulling the boat out.......:grumble::grumble:

So.............if anyone happened to find a 3' white cushion (white with Red piping) lemme know and it will save me the $365 to replace it on-line:bowdown:

We'll be back a little later.....if you see us (or our rear seat cushion) in the channel....wave us down and say hi!

Cheers!

 

[RLJ676]

Great little boats, it will easily handle Havasu. I've read on OSO of guys that used to run those to the Bahamas from Miami I think!

 

[Paul65k]

Well.......not going to make it to the channel today as our launch vehicle took a dump so we're sitting on the TriToon at one of the little picnic areas near Cattail cove so we won't get the Donzi wet today.

Cheers!

PS.....I could see taking this little guy to Catalina....although this one will NOT be seeing salt water.

PB

 

[WTMFA]

How rare are these boats? If I wanted one where would you suggest I start looking? What is the price range on these boats?
Thanx

 

[whiteworks]

How rare are these boats? If I wanted one where would you suggest I start looking? What is the price range on these boats?
Thanx

rare but not real rare.

do some homework here.
http://www.donzi.net/forums/index.php

I'd start my search here.
http://www.allofcraigs.com/2009/08/...+sweet+16&as_qdr=a&safe=active&sa=Search#2182

 

[WTMFA]

rare but not real rare.

do some homework here.
http://www.donzi.net/forums/index.php

I'd start my search here.
http://www.allofcraigs.com/2009/08/...+sweet+16&as_qdr=a&safe=active&sa=Search#2182

Thanx man!
I think this might be my next boat

 

[Paul65k]

How rare are these boats? If I wanted one where would you suggest I start looking? What is the
price range on these boats?
Thanx

Actually not too rare. They were first built in 1964 or 65 and they morphed into a 18 as well as 22. Most of the 16's have a 4.3 V6 but few of them have the V8 this one......they have been referred to as the "911 of boats" since they have been around so long with virtually the same design. I looked for 3 or 4 months to find one that was as nice as this one and had the V8. Most of these boats are back east or in FL and have seen major salt water time so a freshwater example is rare but findable.

People who own these boats tend to take care of them. For a "like new" 16 I think you"ll pay at least 10 and more likely 12K. I paid a little more than 15 for mine but it only had 85 hours and literally looks like new, plus it was in CA and I really didn't have the time to try and save $1-2K. I think boats are like airplanes......find the absolute best example you can find and pay a good price (not stupid mind you) and in the long run it will l
Likely be the cheapest solution.

The other cool thing is that there just aren't many of them around.

So the question now becomes.......is this the biggest "mini boat" or smallest "full sized" boat on Havasu! If it's the first then likely the only mini boat here with a V8!!!

 

[dougiebear111]

Thanks for the kind words Paul. It was nice finally meeting you. I have delivered boats in blizzards, rain, wind and now I can say I have delivered one at the end of a Burro trail. We saw no less than 15 of them on the way out. It was pretty cool. Sorry to hear about the rear seat cushion. As we talked about, I believe that Donzi is the "Biggest" Mini-Boat, and it is V-8 powered!!!!! Sorry, Mini-Cat.