Donzi 35 ZR or Fountain 35 Lightning
 

Hi guys

I need some advice. I'm looking into buying either a 35 fountain lightning with twin 525s or a 35 donzi ZR with twin 525s. I'm looking for a fast boat that provides a SMOOTH and DRY ride in rough seas. I think both look amazing so it's gonna come down to better ride quality basically. I'm sure both are fast boats but handling of rough seas is my number one priority. Cabin space is not important to me at all.

I've never been in a fountain or donzi and unfortunately test driving one where I live (outside the US) is not an option. Very few people have them here and the dealer doesn't keep any in stock. Therefore I am going on research alone.

I would also appreciate any feedback on the newer fountain 33 lightnings with twin 496 425 hp. This boat is also in consideration.


Thanks in advance :drink:

Welcome to OSO

First of all, where in the world are you? Whatever you do, you need to take a ride in both boats. They are quite different in size. The Lightning is more like a 32 true footer, when you remove the beak and integrated swimplatform. What is your budget? When you say rough seas, how rough? Abillity to bring x number of passengers? If you don't have one in your area, my guess is you will import one. You will then need to take a vacation to the states and find your boat. If you have the cash for these toys, you have the cash for looking at them. Buying something like this without riding it and looking at it, especially considering you never been on either, would be down right stupid. Not trying to be a stick in the mud, but be sensible about it. You are the one that'll pay and live with it, so you must be the one who likes it.

Never ridden in a Donzi but I did ride in a 35Fountain in 3-5s. I'll never do it again, beat me up pretty bad.

You need to get to the Miami Boat coming up in February to check some boats out first hand. You will learn so much just by seeing ho the boats are layed out, layed up, built, measured, and accessorized.


That said, I'll get you out on a 33 or 37 Active Thunder, and you will be free to make the decision our last two customers looking for similar boats made. The last two owners both took rides in Fountain, Donzi, NorTech, Cigarette, and Sunsation. They are both proud owners of 2012 Active Thunders after making sure they compared the rides of each hull in rough water.

I'll also add, that the ride depends tremendously on the driver. You can't just point the wheel, set the sticks and hope for the best expecting the hull to do the work. When you have harmony between sea conditions, driver experience, boat setup, and passenger comfort; THEN you know what a boat is supposed to feel like.

I agree with the others go to Miami and also check out AT.

For that matter if you are talking new, DONZI and Fountian are closed.

I would consider looking at boats built by companies that are still in business today..........

I would go up to a 38 ZR with 525s minimum.

Why? They only build the hull, all the rest is bought and installed.

If u go to OSO classifieds,

Click Fountain, Page 2, about mid/way down their's a super clean looking 2007 Lightning, 525s, great looking paint scheme, for 150K.

35 fountain is not the best choice for rough water. Great speed if you find a newer one with staggered 525s. Also the smallest cockpit of them all.

Look into a 38 Fountain with staggered 525s. It should run within 2-5 MPH of the same speed, more room and better in the rough. I would never buy a side by side again, only staggered. Impossible to work on unless you are 5' 5" and 150 pounds.

I agree with Sydwayz on the 37 and Thirdchildhood on the 38.
If your talking about bigger seas you'll need an upper 30's foot boat for a better ride in the rough.
Razor's correct also, all the Fountains I saw showed noticably smaller than other Mfg's boats of the same declared size.
But, they were also faster than the competitors boats too.
I'd guess my 38 to be at least 10 mph slower than a Fountain 38SC with equal power. And their 38 was way way smaller in the salon and the cockpit.

Congrats on your upcoming purchase. Place pic's of any offshore power boat your interested in in this Forum and most likely someone will recognize the boat and perhaps know the owner. I always thought I might wear out my welcome with the boats I posted here while searching but everyone was always happy to assist. 2 of the 4 were members exboats with new owners or friends of members.
I passed on both instantly after speaking with the member who sold due to what I felt was less than desirable representation by the seller.
Like you are cosnsidering to do, I bought a sight unseen, except for internet pic's, unit based on a powertrain survey, marine survey, and a seatrial.
It was nervewracking for sure, because I had a major hull issue that the surveyor brought to my attention which was completely omitted by the seller. I was friggin pissed at him and used this to knockdown my purchase price for a huge discount but still inherited the problem after closing the deal.
WHATEVER you do, don't purchase without a survey and a seatrial. And with the high performance motors like your considering getting a Merc or Team merc approved shop to perform a powertrain survey also.
This is the best money you'll spend toward your purchase.

See ya,
Kelly

You are going to get a lot of opinions, many biased. For the kind of coin you are looking at, plane ticket and test drive.

Just be fair in your story.........the AT will be 100K less than a comparable new Fountain, Donzi, NT, Cig, Sunsation (assuming 36, not 32). Lots of things are going through a buyer's mind during a test run, budget concerns are a huge part of it!

http://www.offshoreonly.com/classifi...o42706-en.html

Check out that 37 Active Thunder, and the guys is asking $37,500!! Seems like a STEAL for that boat?

I agree that seems to good to be true!!!

Older boat with older styling, but still great quality.
It's not a step bottom boat though.

Thanks for all the feedback guys.....definitely has me thinking I should take my time.

I'm not really thinking about anything larger than 35 boats, mainly due to costs (I'm looking to buy a new or slightly used boat) so I know it's not gonna be cheap. Also smaller boats are easier to navigate in the marinas plus u can take them closer to shore.

I will try to make it to the Miami boat show. Do all the manufacturers have test drive boats there? Any other boat shows around the world?

Thanks

I dont want to post false info here, but doesnt Pier 57 and a few other dealers offer test drives for people who are interested?
If they do, that would be a great opportunity for the OP to get some seat time and learn about the boat of his choice.
Another thing to consider is tres martin's performance boat classes....a first time buyer, in my personal opinon, should do the course if they buy a go-fast....

Hi and welcome to OSO.

If you go by what I own, then you know my recommendation: Donzi.

That said, it is what suits ME best.

You have to determine what YOU want in a boat.
Cruising, poker runs, rafting up or beaching it, sleep on it, entertain, etc.
The only way to do this is go see the boats and sit in them. If you go to the Miami Boat Show, you can see all the new models firsthand. While in Miami, you can also hit a few of the local performance dealers and see any boats that are not at the show. (With all the legal stuff going on, Fountain, Donzi and Baja may not be at the show.)

As for the thread topic:
Donzi Zrs have a nice cockpit layout, great speed and handling but lack in cabin headroom.
It is a true 35' boat and rides like a larger boat than it is.
The fountains are equally fast with a smaller cockpit and headroom and only a 32' running surface.

There are other great options out there, and don't discount a 38' boat. It can get in anywhere a 35' can (unless you are limited by docking length). There are some great deals out there right now and you can get great deals on a slightly used boats!

The last thing I would recommend is to stay with well known name brands in a limited market area. It will be hard enough to sell it down the road and the better known it is, the easier to sell.

Just my feelings based on previous experiences.

Are you sure that a 35 Donzi ZR doesn't include the swim platform in the measurement? First I've heard that.

I was also under the impression the 35' includes the built in swim platform.

I am thinking about a boat in your size range a few years down teh road and the 3 boats I am looking at are the 33 Active Thunder, 35 Donzi and 344 Hustler. The AT is definitely the biggest of the 3 and will likely handle the rough water the best. They have only built about 6 of them though...

The Donzi is 35 including the platform. Both the Fountain and the Donzi also have notched transoms so that is a wash too. The Donzi is a bit longer LOA and the fountain has the beak. Length wise I'd say the Donzi is a foot and a half longer in the real world. That isn't enough to push anyone either way IMO.

The Beam though... I think Fountain is 8'4" vs the full 8'6" of the Donzi.

The other measurement that will be way different is the hull height to the rub rail. Fountain loves to put a lot of deck on above the rail, which makes the bottom half of the boat smaller. This to me is a pretty big difference in favor of the Donzi.

With all that said if I wanted the fastest boat for a given power, Fountain will be the winner. If I want better ride, more interior space, nicer cabin, and pretty close performance wise, Donzi. so for me personally... Donzi.

Nice 37 A/T at national liquidators. Looks like a nice boat.

:drink:
Sorry, after re-reading my post it does look like that is what I am saying. I meant to say it rides like a true 35' boat (rides like a bigger boat) and after riding in both, there is no comparison when it comes to ride quality on anything other than a calm day. The 38Zr takes it up another level completely. That boat is almost 39' long and has an 8'8" beam.

The 35 Zr Donzi is 35'3" overall including the swim platform.
The 35 Fountain is 35' beak to tail.
Both boats have an 8'6" beam.

I just had a ride in very rough and windy conditions on the north side of Anguilla in a Sonic 386. The boat had no trouble with big water and provided a smooth, dry ride. Here's one with 525's...

http://www.powerboatlistings.com/view/9026

I'd take the 35 or 38 Fountain!!!! Have a deeper cockpit then the Donzi, and its my personal preference! The updated 07+ Dash and cockpits are awesome!
Have to love this site - the guy asks for an opinion between two great boats, his preferences, and he gets some jacka$$ responses trying to offer him everything from a canoe to a fri*$%* sailboat! Happens everytime! Not saying there aren't good alternatives out there, but thats not what he asked about. If I had my heart set on a Corvette or camaro I wouldn't like to have a Mustang or Nissan recommendation. Hey heres my opinion forget the offshore boat you should go shopping for a Volkswagen Beetle, way cooler trust me! Save gas money too! :angry-smiley-038:

You really should try to get a water test in what ever you are interested in. What I prefer in a boat or anyone else may be alot different than you. Have owned 5 Fountains so you know what my preference is. That said Donzi, Sonic, A/T are all nice options.
One word of advice...dont price what you can afford to buy. Price what you can afford to fix. They will all break at some point. 50hrs or 450hrs, it doesnt matter. Could be a drive, motor, electrical problem ect. Its just the nature of the beast. Good luck.

The Fountain is also 8'6".

If you are going to buy a new boat, forget Donzi and Fountain, too many issues with those at the moment. One that has not been mentioned is the Sunsation 36'. It's about as fast as the Donzi 35' and the Fountain 38'. My guess is that it will be in Miami.

The 36' Sunsation has a 3' intergrated swim platform, no way I would spend the $$$'s they want for those things to end up with a 33' boat. Might as well go with a brand new custom built to your specs 33 AT and save a ton of money. Just my .02.

Did they change the boat? from the fountain manual on the fountain web site:

35 Lightning Twin
LOA: 35' / 10.67 m
Beam: 8'4" / 2.54 m
Draft with drive down 35"
Weight, dry: 8,600 lbs. / 3,904 kgs
Fuel capacity: 164 gals. / 620 L
Recommended power: Twin 525 EFI Mercurys with XR drives - 90+ MPH

http://www.fountainpowerboats.com/do...al05online.pdf

Well said!!!

Seems there is a difference between the old and new 35 Fountain beams.

http://www.fountainpowerboats.com/sp...ifications.asp

Bigger rubrail? :lolhit:

This was up either on Sunny's own forum or the OSO sunny forum, don't remember. What was said there, was that it was 34 and change w/o platform. Do you know the cost of a sunny 36' with merc 525's, not list price, but what will actually be paid compared to the AT? When it comes to custom boats, I'm pretty sure Sunsation will do pretty much whatever you want.

Each to their own I guess.

Yup, but according to Fountains website specs the 35, 38 and 42 are 8½'. I have seen the online manuals, but I think they could use some updating. The weight and other things from the manual does not match with specs on their website and other places either.

To the OP. Have you considered Ilmor power? You should look into that. Check out the Merc vs. Ilmor thread.

Ilmore power, staggered engines, 38's.....heck we may as well go round up a couple of #6's.

Figure out what you want to spend and work from there. Lots of good options have been presented.

For the record, I am a big Donzi fan and just bought a 35 Lightning. Would I own a 35 ZR? Oh hell yeah. Bang for the buck for the dough I wanted to spend landed me in the Fountain. I am very happy with my choice.

AO Razor and ZXXX, thanks for your kind words.

Skyyy, there is a used 2007 Donzi 38ZR for sale in impeccable condition, powered by twin Ilmors and INDY drives. The price is a steal, especially considering the engines, transmissions and drives are all new and factory warrantied. If you're interested, call Mindi Doller at Doller Offshore.... (954) 237-0332.

u may want to consider a 353 formula, 525's cranks it at 85 or better and more cabin then both mentioned, great ride also