z16marine

Seems like a well kept boat from the pictures and description of the seller.

Having a hard time trying to decide whether to go Four Winns or Sweet 16...

Had not even considered the Four Winns until the seller's ad popped up on craigslist the other day.

I think both may be priced outside my budget at this time anyway.

low_psi

I went for a ride in a U-17 once. Never AGAIN!

"bad azz little boats especially in the rough" Say what? Are we all talking about the same boat here?

novakru

Does anybody know of a U-17, U-19 or Donzi 18 classic for sale?

jstrahn

Did the guy driving the boat know how to handle it?

They do really well in the rough since they have the 24 degree deadrise hull. Very similar to the Donzi Sweet 16/Classic 18.

Either your guy didn't know how to drive the boat, it had a problem or you were in EXTREMELY rough seas which a 17 foot boat is not intended for.

They ride great.

low_psi

I don't care what the deadrise is. A 17 foot boat (or 19) that sits just inches higer than the waterline itself is NOT a rough water boat. PERIOD.

Just curious what do you cosider rough water?

jstrahn

I guess that's where our disconnect is. They do well in 3-4 foot chop and I consider that fairly rough water. It is relative to the size of the boat.

It's common sense not to expect a 17 foot boat to handle 6 foot seas but maybe that was your expectation or something...

wjb21ndtown

I agree. I considered buying a 22' Donzi, but I couldn't see running on the Great Lakes, so I figured what's the point? IMO you need something with more freeboard if you want to run it in rough water.

low_psi

No the U-17 is NOT good in a 3-4 foot chop. I doubt you have been in a U-17 in a 3' foot chop. A 1-2' chop probably feels like 3-4 but no way a U-17 handles a 3-4' chop good. So what you are saying, the u-17 handles a chop that is 2-3 times the freeboard of the boat well??? Think about that again. Can it handle a 3' wake from a passing cruiser? Sure it can, power through it, get a bit of air and continue on. But there just simply is not enough of that boat in the water to handle a sustained 3-4' chop.

Baja555

I thought Bob Teague got tossed from 1 when PB tested it..

jstrahn

I have a U-17, I have driven it in 3 foot chop and it does fine. It's not like you're in an Apache 41. I'm not saying that at all. I'm simply saying you make it sound like the boat will capsize in 1 foot waves which couldn't be further from the truth.

Here's a vid (Not mine) of a U-17 running in moderate chop. It's always hard to tell how big seas are in videos so I won't speculate but it gives you an idea of how the boat handles in moderately rough seas.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzOUGTFxF0Q

We'll agree to disagree on the subject. It is certainly not a boat to be afraid of and handles as well or better than most in it's class/size.