1974 24 foot Doral. Should I?

[fund razor]

A buddy of mine has a 74 Doral. Heavy as hell with twin sbcs and the old volvo 270 drives.
Could be had in running condition for a few grand because of the buddy thing. Needs some TLC of course, but for a few grand it would float, the engines would run and the drives would work. Probably a 50-55mph boat as heavy as it is. Good wave crusher, which is what I need.

Opinions?

[fund razor]

Donzi Doral.
Just wanted to make that clear. I know that I posted in the Donzi section, but maybe some folks don't know about the doral model.
(Based on the "El Pescador" hull)

[mattyboy]

yes a great rough water heavy boat the 270 drives are very strong and with SBC the sky is the limit with all the hi po add ons that hull needs alot of trim to really perform also let me say if you stay with the volvos you need to get solas props they make a new prop for the old volvos and they handle and perform great that would be my first investment check out
www.donzi.org do a search on solas props it has all the contact info i know they make the prop in lh rotation not sure if they make a rh prop sounds like a nice project

[fund razor]

The 270 drives don't trim.
But the boat has tabs.

[mattyboy]

I know but a swap out to a 280T or 290 with some minor drilling on the transom when you change the transom housings
can get you trim on the 270 set them on the highest pin for now and do a little at a time this way you can still use and enjoy the boat

[fund razor]

So you are saying that the 270s can be locked in place tilted slightly up?
Or are you saying that a swap in transom housings to a 280 or 290 housing would give trim? Not sure if I understand.

[bootdaddy]

Originally Posted by fund razor

So you are saying that the 270s can be locked in place tilted slightly up?
Or are you saying that a swap in transom housings to a 280 or 290 housing would give trim? Not sure if I understand.

Hey Fund - like the new Homer.

I think he is saying both...while I have no trim on my Hornet II with 260 (I think) the tabs work great for rough water and the boat handles well. I have thought a great deal about upgrading outdrives, but the current volvo drive on the boat work great and are heavy duty so there is no rush for me.

You should be all ovet that Donzi and get some time on the water...then have some fun upgrading when timing is right. You will love the ride and the price sure sounds right.

[mattyboy]

yes i am saying both

the 270 will have 3 trim settings top middle and bottom pre set with a pin and gives you basic trimmed in bow down in the bottom setting , nuetral trim level bow in the middle settting and trimmed up bow up in the top setting the volvo will have a worm gear tilt motor that will lift the drives for trailering and maybe an occasional low water idle speed
like beaching but any force like 1/4 throttle or more put on the worm gear will force the drive back down the pin also works as the reverse locking mechanism so if you tilt up and then go into reverse you're gonna get wet

the second thing I mentioned was a futuer upgrade to a 280T or 290 which would mean some minor transom work but would need new transom housings and new drive legs will be some money but it is possible

but I really meant use the boat and build has you go you might find that good props and some tuning the boat rides and performs ok for you so you might not need trim
upgrading the exhausts manifolds as well that can save some weight in the back especially if your current setup is the old style cast iron log type manifolds that is a saving grace for the sb Chevy there is a ton of hi po goodies for it that are not expensive
My 67 16 has a sb Ford and there are not alot of hi po goodies and most are custom stuff like hi po exhausts are big bucks

all things to think about but I would use the boat first and see what you think she needs

what seats do you have in the doral there were 2 styles a basic buckseat on a tall pedistal or a molded fiberglass bucket with a storage compartment in the back??

hope that helps

[fund razor]

Originally Posted by bootdaddy

Hey Fund - like the new Homer.

I think he is saying both...while I have no trim on my Hornet II with 260 (I think) the tabs work great for rough water and the boat handles well. I have thought a great deal about upgrading outdrives, but the current volvo drive on the boat work great and are heavy duty so there is no rush for me.

You should be all ovet that Donzi and get some time on the water...then have some fun upgrading when timing is right. You will love the ride and the price sure sounds right.

Gotcha. Thanks.

I do like the ride. I have run the boat. The owner is a good friend.

[fund razor]

Originally Posted by mattyboy

yes i am saying both

the 270 will have 3 trim settings top middle and bottom pre set with a pin and gives you basic trimmed in bow down in the bottom setting , nuetral trim level bow in the middle settting and trimmed up bow up in the top setting

the second thing I mentioned was a futuer upgrade to a 280T or 290 which would mean some minor transom work new transom housings and new drive legs

but I really meant use the boat and build has you go you might find that good props and some tuning the boat rides and performs ok for you so you might not need trim
upgrading the exhausts manifolds as well that can save some weight in the back especially if your current setup is the old style cast iron log type manifolds that is a saving grace for the sb Chevy there is a ton of hi po goodies for it that are not expensive
My 67 16 has a sb Ford and there are not alot of hi po goodies and most are custom stuff like hi po exhausts are big bucks

all things to think about but I would use the boat first and see what you think she needs

what seats do you have in the doral there were 2 styles a basic buckseat on a tall pedistal or a molded fiberglass bucket with a storage compartment in the back??

hope that helps

That helps. Thanks. I have run it, but I don't know where the drives were set.
My guess is that they were trimmed up a smidge. I think that we saw 55 on the gps, and that wouldn't have been possible without the drive trim help, I don't think.
I don't think that the ex mans are the logs. I think that he changed them out at some point. They are straight thru hulls with no switching. I would like to lose some weight in the rear end though. More than low enough for my tastes.

The seats are the tall molded fiberglass bucket with drop out seats and storage behind.

There are a couple of pics on the thread that I started a couple of years ago when he was gonna sell it.
I think that he would take 3k. On a roller trailer.