Nov 5

Nov 5 Crown Jewel Donzi Baby 14 Cruises Again

Like so many restorations we have featured, they are all a labor of love. Often there is a connection to the boat itself or sometimes it is a love for the boat brand. In this case there is a little bit of both. Rob Martin is a self identified Donzi fanatic. In the boat world only certain brands have true fanatics and Donzi is one of them. I really do love old Donzi’s, they are for many of us the first window into boat history and offshore racing. The 16, 18 and 22 that are still made today which is a testament to their following.

Rob spends his summers around Muskoka Ontario, and like many of us, fell in love with the first Donzi he saw. Muskoka, a beautiful chain of lakes in Ontario, has a serious collection of Donzi enthusiasts, so it’s not uncommon to see really rare Donzi’s cruising around. Rob ended up fascinated with a Donzi 16’ Ski Sporter that was in a boat house of a client where he was working at the time. Fast forward about ten years and Rob ended up getting his own 1994 Donzi 16 Classic. Rob began learning more about the history of the company and set his sights on owning a more rare Donzi. He had three in mind, the 2+3 Hornet, Corsican and ultra rare baby 14’.

Not as pretty as it once was, this is how Rob found the rare vintage Donzi.

After owning the 16 for a while, Rob ended up finding a Hornet and sold the 16 to acquire it. Hornet’s are rare enough, but Rob’s is also the last one made and he still owns it. Later, he bought that elusive Donzi Corsican sight unseen and ran it for 12 years. But it wasn’t until 2011 he came across the ultra rare baby 14’ that Rob really sought. The best part was, the ad identified inaccurately the little Donzi as being a 15, which was most likely confused with the 15’ jet boat they made as the seller seemed unaware and it seemed priced well below value.

After getting to an agreeable price, Rob went down to Maryland with his Dad to pick up the vintage cruiser. Upon arrival, Rob’s Dad thought he was crazy. The Donzi was a on a dilapidated trailer, chained to a stump and stuck in the mud. With the help of a front end loader and some effort, the baby 14 was slid on to Rob’s trailer to make the journey back to Ontario. For $1,500, the Donzi was now his. Like so many enthusiasts, the hunt is part of the experience and this one took 10 years to find. This baby 14’ is hull number 4 of 14 ever made.

The Donzi was taken apart and virtually everything was replaced. Transom, stringers, seat supports.

The bad news was that it needed everything. Like a true fanatic though, Rob turned the Donzi into a pristine version of its former self. The beauty of the baby Donzi 14’ is the familiar lines of vintage Donzi design and the single bench seat make it so sharp. Rob’s has the butterfly hatch covering the 80 HP MerCruiser which was unique to the early boats.

A clean 80 HP MerCruiser was obtained while Rob kept the original to have it.

Since the boat needed everything, the whole process took 3 years. Chad Coady in Gravenhurst Ontario took on the task of taking the Donzi apart, and disassembling everything. Extensive repairs to the deck and hull were undertaken. Everything was ground out, sanded and re-glassed. New transom and stringers for the boats structure and new wood was used to reinforce the bench seat. New gelcoat was used, the painstaking process of sanding the layers of gel is a ton of work but makes the boat truly like new.

The biggest change Rob made was going with the white base color and red stripe as opposed to the boat’s original red because Rob absolutely loves the white red combo and it’s a timeless Donzi color combination. I have to agree with Rob, it looks amazing. All hardware was redone, chrome plated and new Covico steering wheel. He also added a new aluminum tank and new rub rail to go with the new scripts and Donzi decal. Rob also found a dash and throttle, finishing off the interior. Every effort was made to keep the baby 14’ as original as possible.

All new gelcoat; a hard job, each layer was sanded and finished in white with a red stripe, a classic Donzi color scheme.

Because the boat had been used in brackish water, the original engine and drive were in rough shape. Rob sourced a replacement freshwater 80 HP Renault MerCruiser, while keeping the original just in case. Scott Miller in Port Carling did the rigging. The boat came out absolutely beautiful. Not surprisingly, the Donzi one best in show for restored boats at the ACBS show in 2016, marking a job well done by all.

With everything as new or better the result is stunning. This Baby Donzi 14 is a work of art.

Rob loves running the little cruiser in Muskoka, and even ran it in a vintage poker run. The 80 HP engine pushes her nicely at 35 MPH and the deep V dynamo rides great at those speeds. I don’t think Rob will part with this one anytime soon but he did mention he still has his eye out for a couple other vintage Donzi’s. One thing is for sure, the boat world is lucky people like Rob take the time and effort to keep these classic boats around to cruise another day.