Project: Creating The World’s Fastest 22 Donzi Classic
10-13-2017, 11:16 AM
#21
Registered
Ted's Ilmor 22 Classic ran 104. It was custom built at the Donzi factory with a fully cored hull and it had a round keel straight bottom like other 22 Classics.
Bjorn's 22 did run 112 with fairly mild power but also had a pad added.
If someone is setting out to build the fastest Donzi 22C does it count if the hull has been modified extensively? Not IMO.
I don't believe this hull needs to be changed at the factory. Plenty of us love these boats just as they are and the rough water capability is legendary. Mine goes off-shore regularly and runs 83-85 with a 525. I rarely desire any more speed.
Bjorn's 22 did run 112 with fairly mild power but also had a pad added.
If someone is setting out to build the fastest Donzi 22C does it count if the hull has been modified extensively? Not IMO.
I don't believe this hull needs to be changed at the factory. Plenty of us love these boats just as they are and the rough water capability is legendary. Mine goes off-shore regularly and runs 83-85 with a 525. I rarely desire any more speed.
10-13-2017, 11:49 AM
#22
Registered
I will stay out of this one. 
10-13-2017, 12:47 PM
#23
arneson-industries.com
Offshoreonly Advertiser
There was a Classic -18 here in CT about 10 yrs ago named "Mighty Mouse". It had a Pro-charged 400+ CI small block in it that reportedly made 900+ HP. It had an Arenson Surface Drive on it. The boat was said to run
120 MPH. You can see it on Youtube ..... type in Mighty Mouse Donzi....really cool boat but again...I wouldnt want to be a passenger.
120 MPH. You can see it on Youtube ..... type in Mighty Mouse Donzi....really cool boat but again...I wouldnt want to be a passenger.
George Desmond out of CT. 1974 Barrel Back 18' Donzi ran 124 mph with a pro charged small block and an Arneson with an old 4 blade Rolla prop. Surprisingly stable George said
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10-13-2017, 02:34 PM
#24
Registered
iTrader: (6)
Many owners of these boats will disagree that they handle poorly. I'm familiar with several that run over 100, a half dozen that run in the 90s and quite a few more in the 80s. I only know of one that crashed and that was the one at the LOTO shootout a couple years ago. He was under a lot of pressure to make a speed run when he should have backed out of it and tried again later. So glad he wasn't hurt badly. The handling of Donzi Classics has been debated before yet they still have a loyal following.
10-13-2017, 03:53 PM
#25
Registered
Many owners of these boats will disagree that they handle poorly. I'm familiar with several that run over 100, a half dozen that run in the 90s and quite a few more in the 80s. I only know of one that crashed and that was the one at the LOTO shootout a couple years ago. He was under a lot of pressure to make a speed run when he should have backed out of it and tried again later. So glad he wasn't hurt badly. The handling of Donzi Classics has been debated before yet they still have a loyal following.
. Your video shows how brutal yours is.And why do you think nobody has used a hull like that since the 70s, other than Bayliner or Sea Ray? And by the way, you can get any boat to go 100 MPH, Crazy power; have it ride on the K-planes and hang on for dear life. There's Sea Rays, Crownlines etc going 90+ with crazy engines. It's not that impressive.
Here's a junk old Sea Ray I think that does 90:
Loyal following for sure. Lots of wipe outs in Classics. Many guys have been killed or badly injured. When you see the ones on video barrel rolling, like the one at LOTO, that is a symptom of the hull having no stability, nothing helping it track. Lots of boats can barrel roll at high speed but the Classic is just more susceptible because of the hull design.
10-14-2017, 09:49 AM
#26
Registered
iTrader: (6)
My Donzi 22 Classic story:
After 30 years of driving high performance lake boats I purchased my first and only Donzi Classic from the old Pier 57. A 2005 22 with factory aluminum fairing and a 496 HO. I was told the boat would run 72 which I took with a grain of salt since top end is usually exaggerated. On my maiden voyage my first observation was that the boat listed to port. This is my first boat with trim tabs but I was familiar with tab operation so I carefully dropped the port tab and got the boat running flat. On my first few laps around the local lake the boat, when turning, rolled onto it's side and then slammed down flat. I was like "why the hell is it doing that?" I went easy on the turns for awhile as I gained seat time. Soon I had the boat running consistently at 73 on gps. That was a pleasant surprise that Pier 57 actually understated the top end of my new boat. I quickly became aware that I could throw most of what I knew about driving a high performance boat out the window. I also quickly gained confidence with this boat as I mastered tight, rub rail dipping turns. I learned to feel the point at which the boat would try to roll onto it's side. I got a lot of satisfaction from learning and mastering driving this boat. It requires a lot of adjustments of trim and tabs while underway. It was also obvious that I couldn't put anyone else behind the wheel. I soon became bored with 73 mph and I dropped in a low hour 525. The 525 is a great match for this hull and gets it solidly into the 80s. Next up was an Imco -2" shorty. Now I was ready to tackle the big water of Lake St. Clair and the Great Lakes and learn a whole new world of off-shore boating. Well my first time out I blew up the Bravo X drive but was able to limp back to the dock. I immediately ordered a new XR upper. After about 10 seasons of experience running on Lakes Erie, Huron, Michigan and St. Clair I've become a very able pilot of this hull. My boat proved to be very forgiving and predictable as long as I maintain confidence in it and my ability to drive it. I've hit my share of rouge cruiser wakes and underestimated freighter wakes. The boat flies true and has never come close to flipping. I also learned that not every Donzi 22 Classic is equal. There are some problem hulls out there that suffer from uncontrollable porpoise or chine walk. Mine has never had any of those issues. This hull is not for everyone and what is seen by some people as ill handling is actually the very thing some of us love about this hull design. While the 24* rounded keel deep vee allows the boat to rock it also allows for tight high banked turns and a very predictable ride once mastered. It also crushes waves. Tabs are needed only minimally and are fully raised when running fast. Some people run without tabs and others install K-planes, which I don't recommend. While cruising I run a bit of port tab to level the boat. I'll drop both tabs to keep the boat running flat when the water is kicking up. I can run fast on 2-3s. 4s are no fun but can be run on plane. Bigger than 4s and I idle. I crossed Lake Erie once on 6-8s at idle; No fun! If someone is looking for top speed there are much more suitable hulls out there although an insane 1,200 hp should easily power a stock but reinforced 22C to over 120 mph; As long as you don't have a problem hull as mentioned above! I am active in the Donzi community and personally familiar with three of these boats that run stably over 100 and many more that run stably in the 90s and 80s. So bash away at them if you will as myself and many others will just grin and say "whatever" because we know and love these boats!
After 30 years of driving high performance lake boats I purchased my first and only Donzi Classic from the old Pier 57. A 2005 22 with factory aluminum fairing and a 496 HO. I was told the boat would run 72 which I took with a grain of salt since top end is usually exaggerated. On my maiden voyage my first observation was that the boat listed to port. This is my first boat with trim tabs but I was familiar with tab operation so I carefully dropped the port tab and got the boat running flat. On my first few laps around the local lake the boat, when turning, rolled onto it's side and then slammed down flat. I was like "why the hell is it doing that?" I went easy on the turns for awhile as I gained seat time. Soon I had the boat running consistently at 73 on gps. That was a pleasant surprise that Pier 57 actually understated the top end of my new boat. I quickly became aware that I could throw most of what I knew about driving a high performance boat out the window. I also quickly gained confidence with this boat as I mastered tight, rub rail dipping turns. I learned to feel the point at which the boat would try to roll onto it's side. I got a lot of satisfaction from learning and mastering driving this boat. It requires a lot of adjustments of trim and tabs while underway. It was also obvious that I couldn't put anyone else behind the wheel. I soon became bored with 73 mph and I dropped in a low hour 525. The 525 is a great match for this hull and gets it solidly into the 80s. Next up was an Imco -2" shorty. Now I was ready to tackle the big water of Lake St. Clair and the Great Lakes and learn a whole new world of off-shore boating. Well my first time out I blew up the Bravo X drive but was able to limp back to the dock. I immediately ordered a new XR upper. After about 10 seasons of experience running on Lakes Erie, Huron, Michigan and St. Clair I've become a very able pilot of this hull. My boat proved to be very forgiving and predictable as long as I maintain confidence in it and my ability to drive it. I've hit my share of rouge cruiser wakes and underestimated freighter wakes. The boat flies true and has never come close to flipping. I also learned that not every Donzi 22 Classic is equal. There are some problem hulls out there that suffer from uncontrollable porpoise or chine walk. Mine has never had any of those issues. This hull is not for everyone and what is seen by some people as ill handling is actually the very thing some of us love about this hull design. While the 24* rounded keel deep vee allows the boat to rock it also allows for tight high banked turns and a very predictable ride once mastered. It also crushes waves. Tabs are needed only minimally and are fully raised when running fast. Some people run without tabs and others install K-planes, which I don't recommend. While cruising I run a bit of port tab to level the boat. I'll drop both tabs to keep the boat running flat when the water is kicking up. I can run fast on 2-3s. 4s are no fun but can be run on plane. Bigger than 4s and I idle. I crossed Lake Erie once on 6-8s at idle; No fun! If someone is looking for top speed there are much more suitable hulls out there although an insane 1,200 hp should easily power a stock but reinforced 22C to over 120 mph; As long as you don't have a problem hull as mentioned above! I am active in the Donzi community and personally familiar with three of these boats that run stably over 100 and many more that run stably in the 90s and 80s. So bash away at them if you will as myself and many others will just grin and say "whatever" because we know and love these boats!
10-14-2017, 07:30 PM
#27
Registered
My Donzi 22 Classic story:
After 30 years of driving high performance lake boats I purchased my first and only Donzi Classic from the old Pier 57. A 2005 22 with factory aluminum fairing and a 496 HO. I was told the boat would run 72 which I took with a grain of salt since top end is usually exaggerated. On my maiden voyage my first observation was that the boat listed to port. This is my first boat with trim tabs but I was familiar with tab operation so I carefully dropped the port tab and got the boat running flat. On my first few laps around the local lake the boat, when turning, rolled onto it's side and then slammed down flat. I was like "why the hell is it doing that?" I went easy on the turns for awhile as I gained seat time. Soon I had the boat running consistently at 73 on gps. That was a pleasant surprise that Pier 57 actually understated the top end of my new boat. I quickly became aware that I could throw most of what I knew about driving a high performance boat out the window. I also quickly gained confidence with this boat as I mastered tight, rub rail dipping turns. I learned to feel the point at which the boat would try to roll onto it's side. I got a lot of satisfaction from learning and mastering driving this boat. It requires a lot of adjustments of trim and tabs while underway. It was also obvious that I couldn't put anyone else behind the wheel. I soon became bored with 73 mph and I dropped in a low hour 525. The 525 is a great match for this hull and gets it solidly into the 80s. Next up was an Imco -2" shorty. Now I was ready to tackle the big water of Lake St. Clair and the Great Lakes and learn a whole new world of off-shore boating. Well my first time out I blew up the Bravo X drive but was able to limp back to the dock. I immediately ordered a new XR upper. After about 10 seasons of experience running on Lakes Erie, Huron, Michigan and St. Clair I've become a very able pilot of this hull. My boat proved to be very forgiving and predictable as long as I maintain confidence in it and my ability to drive it. I've hit my share of rouge cruiser wakes and underestimated freighter wakes. The boat flies true and has never come close to flipping. I also learned that not every Donzi 22 Classic is equal. There are some problem hulls out there that suffer from uncontrollable porpoise or chine walk. Mine has never had any of those issues. This hull is not for everyone and what is seen by some people as ill handling is actually the very thing some of us love about this hull design. While the 24* rounded keel deep vee allows the boat to rock it also allows for tight high banked turns and a very predictable ride once mastered. It also crushes waves. Tabs are needed only minimally and are fully raised when running fast. Some people run without tabs and others install K-planes, which I don't recommend. While cruising I run a bit of port tab to level the boat. I'll drop both tabs to keep the boat running flat when the water is kicking up. I can run fast on 2-3s. 4s are no fun but can be run on plane. Bigger than 4s and I idle. I crossed Lake Erie once on 6-8s at idle; No fun! If someone is looking for top speed there are much more suitable hulls out there although an insane 1,200 hp should easily power a stock but reinforced 22C to over 120 mph; As long as you don't have a problem hull as mentioned above! I am active in the Donzi community and personally familiar with three of these boats that run stably over 100 and many more that run stably in the 90s and 80s. So bash away at them if you will as myself and many others will just grin and say "whatever" because we know and love these boats!
After 30 years of driving high performance lake boats I purchased my first and only Donzi Classic from the old Pier 57. A 2005 22 with factory aluminum fairing and a 496 HO. I was told the boat would run 72 which I took with a grain of salt since top end is usually exaggerated. On my maiden voyage my first observation was that the boat listed to port. This is my first boat with trim tabs but I was familiar with tab operation so I carefully dropped the port tab and got the boat running flat. On my first few laps around the local lake the boat, when turning, rolled onto it's side and then slammed down flat. I was like "why the hell is it doing that?" I went easy on the turns for awhile as I gained seat time. Soon I had the boat running consistently at 73 on gps. That was a pleasant surprise that Pier 57 actually understated the top end of my new boat. I quickly became aware that I could throw most of what I knew about driving a high performance boat out the window. I also quickly gained confidence with this boat as I mastered tight, rub rail dipping turns. I learned to feel the point at which the boat would try to roll onto it's side. I got a lot of satisfaction from learning and mastering driving this boat. It requires a lot of adjustments of trim and tabs while underway. It was also obvious that I couldn't put anyone else behind the wheel. I soon became bored with 73 mph and I dropped in a low hour 525. The 525 is a great match for this hull and gets it solidly into the 80s. Next up was an Imco -2" shorty. Now I was ready to tackle the big water of Lake St. Clair and the Great Lakes and learn a whole new world of off-shore boating. Well my first time out I blew up the Bravo X drive but was able to limp back to the dock. I immediately ordered a new XR upper. After about 10 seasons of experience running on Lakes Erie, Huron, Michigan and St. Clair I've become a very able pilot of this hull. My boat proved to be very forgiving and predictable as long as I maintain confidence in it and my ability to drive it. I've hit my share of rouge cruiser wakes and underestimated freighter wakes. The boat flies true and has never come close to flipping. I also learned that not every Donzi 22 Classic is equal. There are some problem hulls out there that suffer from uncontrollable porpoise or chine walk. Mine has never had any of those issues. This hull is not for everyone and what is seen by some people as ill handling is actually the very thing some of us love about this hull design. While the 24* rounded keel deep vee allows the boat to rock it also allows for tight high banked turns and a very predictable ride once mastered. It also crushes waves. Tabs are needed only minimally and are fully raised when running fast. Some people run without tabs and others install K-planes, which I don't recommend. While cruising I run a bit of port tab to level the boat. I'll drop both tabs to keep the boat running flat when the water is kicking up. I can run fast on 2-3s. 4s are no fun but can be run on plane. Bigger than 4s and I idle. I crossed Lake Erie once on 6-8s at idle; No fun! If someone is looking for top speed there are much more suitable hulls out there although an insane 1,200 hp should easily power a stock but reinforced 22C to over 120 mph; As long as you don't have a problem hull as mentioned above! I am active in the Donzi community and personally familiar with three of these boats that run stably over 100 and many more that run stably in the 90s and 80s. So bash away at them if you will as myself and many others will just grin and say "whatever" because we know and love these boats!
07-30-2018, 12:47 PM
#29
Registered
Ted's Ilmor 22 Classic ran 104. It was custom built at the Donzi factory with a fully cored hull and it had a round keel straight bottom like other 22 Classics.
Bjorn's 22 did run 112 with fairly mild power but also had a pad added.
If someone is setting out to build the fastest Donzi 22C does it count if the hull has been modified extensively? Not IMO.
I don't believe this hull needs to be changed at the factory. Plenty of us love these boats just as they are and the rough water capability is legendary. Mine goes off-shore regularly and runs 83-85 with a 525. I rarely desire any more speed.
Bjorn's 22 did run 112 with fairly mild power but also had a pad added.
If someone is setting out to build the fastest Donzi 22C does it count if the hull has been modified extensively? Not IMO.
I don't believe this hull needs to be changed at the factory. Plenty of us love these boats just as they are and the rough water capability is legendary. Mine goes off-shore regularly and runs 83-85 with a 525. I rarely desire any more speed.
Last edited by fysis; 07-31-2018 at 02:26 PM.
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05-22-2019, 07:30 PM
#30
Registered
While I’ve had a couple of Classic 18s, I now have a 22 Classic Blackhawk.... it’s all original. It seems to have quite a bit more porpoising than the 18s.
What is a “pad” and does it apply to a 22 BH, or stick with stock gear?
What is a “pad” and does it apply to a 22 BH, or stick with stock gear?
