Do they have any plans to do an 18 or any other models in the future?

I asked their marketing guy yesterday when he delivered the boat.Answer is yes,but a year or so down the road.I sold Donzi for years,the 16 and 18 were my favorites,most fun ever.One neat thing is this boat has storage under all the seats,the Donzi had no storage.They also lowered the floor and the seats so you feel like you are sitting in the boat rather than on top of it. I am actually kind of excited,don't expect to sell a ton of them,but hopefully enough to make a buck or two and have some fun.We will see.:drink:

Well, I can try and give a little perspective. As one of the founders of Hornet Marine. My Father, Harold Hartmann, was the project engineer for a division of United Aircraft(United Technologies). His job was to prove the endurance capabilities of gas turbine power. He was involved in the first use of Gas Turbine's in almost every situations except for airplanes. Most of the the early work was in the marine industry including crew boats, container ships, and military vessels of many types.

The "Thunderbird" was a very high profile project at the time. they hired the best designers, world champion drivers, and the top manufacturers. They set out to win the race.

Harold Hartmann worked on the boat closely with Jim Wynne. Walt Walters came in when it was ready for racing. My father did lot of testing with Jim. He effectively learned to drive a boat from Jim. He also Learned a lot about Marine design.

I am not going to go into the whole race story here but it was amazing!

When Harold Hartmann came home. He sold the family sailboat and went out and bought a Donzi St. Tropez (I still own this boat). The St. Tropez (Same hull as the Hornet) was designed by Jim and Walt for Donzi.

I grew up with a Donzi in the family. We owned a couple other Donzis over the years. My father, always the engineer, talking about what was done right and what should be done better.

Hornet Marine utilizes this design and manufacturing input to build one of the best boats in the industry. We credit Jim Wynne, Waltman Walters, and Harold Hartmann all with having a direct impact on the design of the Hornet 17.

Our goal is to continue the development of this great work.

David Hartmann
One of the founders of Hornet Marine

More Pics!!!

Very cool! Saw the Thunderbird in action in the movie Run Sunward (a must have for any offshore history buff) also spoke to the current owner at the Bimini race a few years ago. Good luck with Hornet

If you're interested in seeing more, we do regularly update our facebook page & that is probably the best place to go to check out more pictures: www.facebook.com/hornetmarine