Why did Donzi fail?
 

Hey guys sorry about my negligence on this boat, but why did the Donzi 44 Icon never really pan out? I mean It's basically the highest form of luxury/comfort with lots of speed. I understand they sold there demo boat. But why didn't they get at least a handful of orders? Is there something out there that I don't know about this beauty?

Tough market is my guess

same goes for the 42 and 47 lightings they built. its all about cc's right now

and the zrc is still sitting

If I remember right, the price on that 44 was well over $800k. For that kind of money, you can have a very nice CC or a more proven cat (MTI, Mystic, Skater, etc). I hate seeing Donzi struggle. We have a 43 ZR with triple 700's and a Limited Edition Blackhawk 22 Classic, so I am a Donzi enthusiast. Donzi was one of the first in the CC market, so it's sad not seeing them relevant even in that class of boats.

I'm guessing that the performance big cat market doesn't care for the extra cock pit space.

Mistakes in how to build and sell the brand....

That boat isn't really in the same league as other 44 foot cats. With quad 400s they were hoping it would hit 120 mph...... that is a sled for 1600 HP!

I like the Mystic 40 is my favorite and its significantly less than the Donzi MSRP, runs the same speed with 1/2 as many motors and still seats 6.

Donzi/Fountain/Baja group or whatever it is called is going to have the same issues as the former ownership group if they don't come up with fresh ideas that sell.

Re-hashing old 38 ZRC, Fountain 42/47 designs isn't going to work especially at their asking prices. ZRC is a great boat, but face reality it is a terrible fit for today's boating lifestyle.........ZERO amenities and 5 seats. They didn't even revive the better ZRC hull but rather the prior version. How many ZRC's did they sell over the whole production run when the original Donzi was making them? 50-100? Why target such a small group of buyers? I have a buddy that has bought 4 brand new Fountains, the last three being 42s. He loves the brand, big fan of Reggie. He actually inquired about a new build, then complained his last 3 Fountain 42s combined didn't cost what they want for a new one today! Now part of it is the power and drives are much more pricey, can't compare #6s to bravos which his 3 42s had but its essentially the same boat from 20+ years ago.

If it was the car business, imagine if Ford offered a 2000 Mustang GT new today or Chevy offered a 2000 C5 Corvette for the what a 2020 version costs today? It would be crickets in the dealerships........

And they didn't want their windscreen / windshield to look like a cock and balls either :party-smiley-004:

lol

The 44 Icon was awful looking and the build quality was terrible. The demo boat in Miami was so badly built I'm surprised they showed it. This is not surprising that they are struggling.

Should have made more 16 OB's. I'm loving mine.

More realistically, the only go-fast builders that made it were the ultra high end guys whose clientele is largely insulated from economic downturn....

What he said. ^^^
(The second part) :)

The same reason a majority of boat builders went out of business. Even this forum has changed quite a bit, it used to be Waterfoul types wrenching on their "affordable" go-fasts with a supportive community of like minded individuals, now it's Skater this, OL that, Cig this, MTI that. Still has a good community but different.
When a basic 28' go fast costs $120k, it's gone from the realm of the affordable weekend hobby to absurd.

I know the build quality sucked but man I love the look and room in that Donzi!

I feel as though they missed the boat/mark IRT the ZRC and that was their opportunity to shine.

The one boat they built IS gorgeous. But I don’t see it as more expensive to build than a 37’ AT of which I personally have extensive insight into. Sure they had extensive investment in tooling. But you don’t make that up in the first build.

And they didn’t use the latest and greatest and often preferred rendition of the ZRC hull. They used the earlier 2 step version vs. the later 4 step version. Just adding steps doesn’t make it a hull better. But others have remarked that the quad handled, tracked, and turned better.

Some folks know I am a big ZRC fan, and I aim to own one someday when I’m done racing cars. I wanted to fawn over the new ZRC, but I think I prefer the later model originals that Craig Barrie oversaw.

I had never even heard of the Donzi 44 Icon and I've owned a Donzi since 2005! I think it looks kind of cool with lots of party space inside for the CC loving crowd and the performance of a Cat. Now replace those 400s with 450s and we''re going far faster than 120! I do get the price thing and have not seen the build quality however.
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...8ec12db1e8.jpg

To be fair both of those were paid for builds, and for Jup the only things that stayed the same was the hulls, the top cap was modified and interiors all new. Now as for liking the new interior well,,,,,,,,,,,
As for DONZI it does seem the market is huge CC's and fast 30-37 foot OB cats right now. The DONZI cat didn't fit either but I give it to them to try something new.

120K?????

Where,,,, did you hit the 1 and meant to hit the 2? LOL

[QUOTE=seafordguy;4768392]Should have made more 16 OB's. I'm loving mine.


They should be chuckng 16 & 18 outboards out of every door of the factory.

original deck

dual console bowrider (like a seadoo layout)

and center console.


The history and brand recognition, delivered on there own bottom, why cant they fish ski dive etc ?

let the woven fly, i rather have 70's fit and finish than 20 years of payments on a boat that wears out and/or electronically gizmo fails in 3 or 4 years.

Donzi Boats if I had my way - Bring them all to the market with 540 / Bravo packages (or Verados) and showcase great speed at a fair price - sit between entry level and full custom:

18', 22', 27' Classics - Single I/O or OB

38', 45' - ZRC Sit Down / Race

35', 39', 45' - ZR Sport - bring them back

29', 35', 39' - Center Consoles - bring them back

41' GTZ (since you have the molds - redesign the interior layout)

Question,

I didn't know there was a 45 ZRC?

The ZR's were 35, 38 and 43 weren't they?

The 35 and 38's are still priced high on the used market that is for sure. Liked the ones with the drop down rear seats.

Don't forget the 27 ZR. I was surprised that it didn't sell better.

There were plans to make a 43 ZRC, back in the mid 2000's but it never panned out.

Years ago I wrote about how Donzi should update the hull on the Classics to make it perform better while retaining the classic look. It got a lot of interesting feedback.

The 41 GT was a decent concept but not very well executed.

article
https://www.wavetowave.com/home/2017...ck-in-the-past

I love the classic line (we have a Limited Edition 22 Blackhawk). It is insane what they want for these boats these days. I just don't understand who would pay anywhere near $150k for a loaded 22. They dont even offer it with a "blue" motor anymore. Obviously this is MSRP pricing, but still.
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...55c62197e7.png

We love our Classics just the way they are, thank you!

"I love the classic line (we have a Limited Edition 22 Blackhawk). It is insane what they want for these boats these days. I just don't understand who would pay anywhere near $150k for a loaded 22. They dont even offer it with a "blue" motor anymore. Obviously this is MSRP pricing, but still."

I have over 100k into my 22. Others have much more invested. I think they will install any reasonable power package if you sign a waver.

Great article. Scott Porta put a pad on a 22 not that long ago with great results. That bottom is begging for an update.

Definitley. I'd love to see Scott's project, great idea.

If you want a hull with a pad then buy a boat that has a pad. The one that crashed at LOTO a few years ago had a pad added with disastrous results. Bjorn in Sweden ran 112 mph in his 22 Classic and NO HULL MODS. I talked to him about it. No insane power either.

I love a 22, don't misunderstand me. I especially love them with smallblocks. Ive run one to 100mph with an 800hp blower motor as well. In fact I bet ive driven over 30 22s. They are immensely popular in our area. My favorites are the late 90s 502 MAG era. The X-Dimension was perfect and it was before they got cheap on the glass. A lot of the 496 boats had bottom cracking issues. The point being, for the price the boat should come with a more modern bottom. In my opinion at this point it should be a restomodded boat. We all know they porpoise with big blocks and roll in the turns. Why not tweak it a little and fix those things? Obviously without changing the look and feel. You're paying for a restored 69 Camaro thats all C7 Corvette underneath. What you get is a 69 Camaro thats all 69 Camaro underneath. Reminds me of Harley. Id be willing to bet 150k would get you near Tuff territory. Put your 525 in a 24 Tuff ittl run 100+.
Donzi is more than capable. The 38 ZR bottom is a masterpiece.

Well said.

It's a Donzi thing. My 525 22 does not porpoise unless I deliberately induce it. The roll in turns is easy to handle with some seat time and mastering the tight, rub rail dipping turns is very satisfying. Anyway, this topic's been beat to death. If you want a modern hull, buy a different boat. Mine goes on the Great Lakes and is very predictable even launching off huge wakes that seem to come from nowhere sometimes! My only caveat is that I cannot let anyone else drive it! My 2005 model which I bought new with a 496 did have the cracking issue. I caught it early and Donzi paid to have a reinforcing kit glassed in. I did some additional reinforcing of the bottom when I powered up. I wouldn't change a thing on my hull.

This is what "I" would do if I had the company:

There was never a 43/45 ZRC built but one was in drawings and plans were there.
There should be a 27' classic similar to the Squadren or Magnums of old.
I would update the whole ZR line (the 35 and 38 were technically closer to 36 & 39 already)
The 27 ZR was not a good boat both performance or cost wise to build.

The owner of the Iconic Marine group just recently sold off another piece of his business empire for 1.4 billion. That's billion with a B. I'm relative sure he's not spending a lot of sleepless nights worrying about which Donzi models are selling or what our opinions of them are. :)

If he owns Donzi, maybe he should. Why own it if you don't care?

What did they sell? Some people from Donzi were trying to buy the company before Iconic got it. Also, for the record, Donzi never filed bankruptcy although they were certainly getting close to that point.

At that price they probably sold something not related to boats.

He sold a Trucking company.

https://www.lakeexpo.com/news/busine...41.4%20billion.

You do realize that Fred Ross isn't getting 1.4 billion right? Blackstone Group was the majority owner of that trucking company and it was repeated in the press release.

In addition, existing CTOS shareholders, including certain funds managed by The Blackstone Group, Inc. ("Blackstone"), in its capacity as the current majority owner of CTOS, and certain members of the CTOS management team, are expected to invest approximately$100 millioninto Nesco in exchange for newly issued common stock also at the same price as Platinum

So Blackstone made the decision to sell/merge the company since they are an investor group trying to make money. Ross is the CEO and will stay on to run the new venture.