Anybody know about these boast, have had a hankering for one since age 16 and now seems the time. Hard to find much solid info, and the donzi club is liek most car forums but not much info. From what i could glean, somehwere around 1988 they were bought by chris carft and quality dropped, plus balsa coring. When did that happen and what is the quality of these boats. then in the early 90s omc bought them which is easy to spot cause its an omc drive which is pointless. Late 90s pro-line bought hem and supposedly quality improved but soem hardaware cheapened, im guesing at some point the removed the wooden stringers but have no datta as to when. Ads with old car condition is evryhing, but to anologise a galavanized car is better than the model year before with out glavnization. Anybody know who is the guru on these I can speak to, and for that matter a really good 18 for sale. ive found a few in canada on the fresh water lakes that might be good candidates, but bringing a boat from Canada one cant really check out before has its own perrils. i know by modern standards the performmace is not great for the power, but the look babulous, sound nice ride the right water great, and like a 32 deuce coupe with a hemi or a harley its just a cool ride.
A place to start would be www.offshoreonly.com or www.screamandfly.com There are a few 22's for sale on OSO right now. Good looking boats. MDS
Hi Mike been to those sites, some info there but not much. there must eb someone in this great land who is the resource. Yes seen the 22s, not as good looking as the 18s and a big boat. thing about the 16s and 18s they handle turns for fun.
Look thru the Keels and Weels program, there has long been a very nice 16 present there. I am not as familiar with the 18....good luck in your search!! A 16 nor 18 would be considered an "offshore" boat tho....
Lots of them on my lake through the years. Still see them frequently. I was told your spine will take a beating on rough water. I’ve also heard they are low maintenance and easy to own.
I had a sweet 16 clone / rip off back in the day. Holman Moody 351 Ford but crappy Volvo outdrive.Did not drink the fuel like the bigger boats . There was a guy at work Bruce Donzi ( no relation) that knew everything about Donzis and had a nice 22 . Lost touch with him 30 years ago . Very cool boats and the only equal in my eyes is the Cigarette. Nice to see they have become classics Good luck in your search .
