Congrats to CB and Donzi!
Donzi hit a home run with the Zr designs thanks to Steve Simon. Unfortunately since his passing, Donzi has been unable to fill the enormous void left behind. Donzi needs a strong performance and detail oriented person to run the show. Craig should fill that void nicely.

congrats craig, i'll guess we'll be seeing more of ya down around here.
grove harbour crew

Lee Kimmell is definately a colorful charachter but to truely understand the man you need to know and understand the man. You also need to be a pretty bright individual to be 39 years old and one of the top players at Salomon Brothers.

Here is a clip from the NY Times 20yrs ago:

"COMPANY NEWS; Appointee at Salomon Has Brash Reputation
By SARAH BARTLETT
Published: March 7, 1989

Lee H. Kimmell, 39 years old, who has been named to head the merchant banking efforts at Salomon Brothers, is a figure with a colorful reputation on Wall Street. He is viewed from inside and outside the firm as a smart investment banker who built Salomon's financial institutions advisory business into one of the most profitable areas of investment banking at the firm.

Lee H. Kimmell, 39 years old, who has been named to head the merchant banking efforts at Salomon Brothers, is a figure with a colorful reputation on Wall Street. He is viewed from inside and outside the firm as a smart investment banker who built Salomon's financial institutions advisory business into one of the most profitable areas of investment banking at the firm.

Among the deals he has overseen are the sale of Texas Commerce Bank to Chemical Banking, the defense of Bank of America from a hostile takeover by First Interstate, American Express' acquisition of Shearson and Shearson's acquisition of Lehman Brothers.

But Mr. Kimmell is also known for constant use of vulgar language, blunt criticisms of colleagues and rudeness that is notable even by the standards of Wall Street deal-making. 'Cannot Tolerate Mediocrity'

Mr. Kimmell acknowledges that aspect of his reputation. ''I simply cannot tolerate mediocrity,'' he said in explaining his manner, which he does not believe has hurt his ability to do business. ''If I'm so abrasive and such a holy terror, then how come so many people hired me, and many of them on a repeat basis?''

And there has been little turnover among the people who work for Mr. Kimmell. Those who work with him say he has matured with the additional responsibilities he has been given in the last few years.

The chairman of Texas Commerce, Ben Love, who has been advised by Mr. Kimmell for more than 10 years, said in reference to his intensity and reputation, ''I'm not telling you the fellow's a marshmallow.'' He then added, ''I've always thought of Lee as a younger version of John Gutfreund, and that's a compliment.''

I don't quite recall the snipit that you are referring to in Matt's story because I don't think it exists but in regard to that topic: The truth is that there are way too many boat manufactures in this industry and alot of them are going out of business today becuase of the economy. Even when the economy is good there is no way shape or form enough demand to sustain all of the boat companies that are out there today.

Getting back to Lee, as brash, colorful, vulgar or rude that he may be he has a huge heart and to truely understand and appreciate the man you need to know him.

When I went to work for Essex Credit I called Lee if he would come to San Francisco and give a "state of the boat business" speech. He said absolutely and re-arranged his schedule to attend. He also paid his own way and wouldn't let me pay a dime.

I am proud to call him "one of my more colorful" friends

october 2003 powerboat

As much as I respect Dave P. and his friendship with Kimmell et al, I rue the day that investment bankers and buyout artists entered the retail boat business. IMHO they are responsible for driving the greatest creative minds out (starting with Carl Kiekhaefer), dumbing down the product line, and mass marketing "units" so that there are far too many pleasure boats floating unused in marinas, aging in driveways, and/or out and about in the hands of people who belong anywhere but on the water. The U.S. was built on the efforts of entrepeneurs who in most cases operated a small business. Today, if you have even a remotely original idea you must navigate a sea of regulation, Capex limits, liability issues, and patent infringement from both the U.S. and abroad (China), making the little guy a non participant. If Carl K. were starting out in this era of instant electronic gratification, and the performance outboard and I/O industry had not been started yet.....it never would be.

T2x

Well said !

Didn't anybody pick up on my comment about Reggie buying Baja? Your reading to fast for comprehension!

Regards,
Ray @ Raylar

Yes but until it is a done deal and publicly announced it is called "RUMOR or HEAR SAY" and god knows there is enough of that on OSO.

I saw on OSO that Dave P. bought a Dragon from Craig Barrie, slapped a Donzi sticker on it, and sold it to CustomRyder on Paycheck-Loan-Credit. Another OSO member saw it in transit outside of LOTO's SuperCat Cove behind a black Dodge dually, sticking vertical out of an industrial wood chipper being towed with a weight distributing hitch.

To clarify: It was a Dragonzi