Offshoreonly.com - Gladiator vs ZR Comp

i think the cig may be a little faster? im sure its lighter. a little info from powerboat.

Reprinted with the permission of Powerboat Magazine

SUITED FOR RACING
You don’t sit in Donzi’s 38 ZR, you wear it.

It would be easy to call the new Donzi 38 ZR an extreme boat, but that expression lost all its punch after the X Games-the first one-and in truth, its just not strong enough to do the 38 ZR justice.

Simply put, the 38 ZR is a perfect example of what can happen when a boat company focuses on making the best boat it can. In evidence of that, Donzi delayed the introduction of the 38 ZR because it needed more time to get every detail right. And it showed. From its slick on-water manners, to its hull efficiency, handling and its dominance in its first year of Factory 2 racing, the 38 ZR we tested was truly dialed in.

PERFORMANCE
Boats decelerate in a hurry. Drag from the water is tremendous and some boats stray to one side or another when chopping the throttles abruptly, especially at speed. The 38 ZR didn’t display the slightest hint of deceleration reaction, which truly is an achievement. More significant was how long it took to slow down when the throttles were cut.

Design cues on the hull were familiar, though applied differently from other 38-footers on the market. The 38 ZR featured two forward-vented steps and a modified V-pad keel. The first step was located about 16 feet from the transom and the second was about 6 feet aft the first. The inside strakes terminated at the second running surface and the outer-located about 20 inches from the chines-ran all the way to the transom. Chines measured about 4 1/2 inches wide and were flat.

None of these features was anything we haven’t seen before, but in this application, they produced astounding results. The boat was easy to drive, with no need for excessive steering input. All you had to do was correct its path once in a while. We hammered it across 3-foot seas, hardly ever lifting off the throttle. The 38 ZR just seemed to find a place and run there, never popping its nose or porpoising even at top speeds. It landed softly, never jarring your spine, thanks to an on-purpose seven-degree rearward andgle in the sit-down bolsters.

The boat was perfectly sensitive to trim and virtually immune to crosswinds. Tracking was top-notch at any speed, even at idle in gear. No doubt the staggered engine formation and the 19” centers contributed greatly to the boat’s stability.

For propulsion on our test model, Donzi went with Bravo One XR drives mounted on Integrated Transom Systems, with Latham steering to the helm, and 380C K-Planes. Gear cases were the Mercury Racing 2-inch-shorter Sport Masters with 1.5:1 reduction and stock15 1/4” x 34” props. For power, Mercury Racing HP525EFIs filled the engine bay.

The combination produced a 91.1-mph top speed at 5,200 rpm on a hot sticky day. The boat came on plane in 6.4 seconds with tabs, briefly blocking the horizon, and hit 41 mph in 10 seconds and 68 mph in twice that. Once the 38 ZR got rolling is where the fun began. Going from 30 to 50 mph took only 5.5 seconds and 40 to 60 mph took even less time at 4.9 seconds.

WORKMANSHIP
For starters, tooling for the 38 ZR was stellar. Mold work was as good as anything we’ve ever seen. Long straight hull-sides were error free, as was the tooling for the deck and the flawless installation of the rubrail, a plastic extrusion with a stainless-steel insert. Fit and finish everywhere was spectacular which also is a word that could be used to describe the lamination schedule.

Donzi used alternate layers of Kevlar and S-glass, with vinylester resins. The hull-and-deck joint was through-bolted and attached on the inside with three layers of Kevlar and one layer of S-glass. Hullsides were cored with five-eights A-500 ATC Corecell applied in a staggered fashion and each of the boat’s 10 bulkheads were 2 3/8” Corecell with a skin of S-glass for added rigidity.

Out in the cockpit, Donzi installed twin sit-down bolsters that fit like a race suit. Once in place, the side cushions partially covered your thighs, keeping you securely in place. All the vinyls were of top quality and were stitched together with incredible care.

Under the overboard-scuppered manual engine hatches, which were held shut with twist-and-pull stainless latches and supported with gas struts, Donzi staggered the starboard engine forward. Both engines were mounted with through-bolted L-angles. Donzi also fabricated the battery boxes and mounted them to either side of the center stringer. To conceal plumbing and wiring, Donzi laminated rigging tubes into the sides of the boat for a cleaner appearance, and all trim pumps were mounted to the outer stringers to either side. Wires and hoses that were visible were supported above Coast Guard spec with stainless cushion clamps and nylon tie-wraps.

INTERIOR
Since this boat was designed as a “roadster” –and it definitely hit its mark- there was no cabin on the 38 ZR, just a couple of lockers in the foredeck for fenders and lines.

The cockpit, however, was as good as it gets. F-16 canopies protected the driver and throttleman from the 90-plus mph breeze and offered good visibility and clarity.

Rigged for one- or two-person operation, the Marine Machine levers-on the console and the optional sticks in starboard gunwale-featured trim switches on each throttle handle that controlled the drives and tabs. For individual adjustments, there were redundant switches on the dash. Gaffrig by Livorsi supplied carbon-fiber-face Monster gauges and Azimuth 1000 electronic compasses sat atop the dash on both sides. All accessory switch gear was heavy-duty pull-and-throw military-style toggles.

Sit-down bolsters hugged their occupants, including the rear three-person “bench,” with form-fitting side supports and optional stainless grab handles to the left and right of all rear passengers. Front passengers benefited from adjustable electric footrests and an optional forced-air system on and under the dash.

OVERALL
Considering all the time and effort that went into designing and building it -not to mention how rewarding the finished product was to drive- you’d have a hard time finding a better 38’ offshore V-Bottom. It’s a benchmark boat for other builders to follow.