1987 Donzi F33 Restore

[peacekeeper6]

Here goes boat number 2 or 3 if you would count a Scarab I did with a buddy. I had a previous thread where I attempted this restore on the same exact type of boat in the archives with the pictures somehow removed, wish i could get them back. Here is some background on that build...I had no idea what i was getting into. Alas we are here with the new boat. Picking her up I knew she had rotten inserts for the floor and some rot around the console where the previous owner tried to secure the console better than the factory and drove very large wood screws through the deck. These of course rotted small patches of the floor. Going into the build I knew the stringers would need to be replaced however; on these boats a funny thing I have noticed about all the boat builds I have done absent actually banging the stringers or getting in there and drilling pilot holes I have never seen any type of stress damage due to the stringers being rotted. On all the boats we did (and boats i met on the water / shop which had rotten stringers) I never noticed any structural integrity issues due to the stringer system being rotten. Why this is I have no idea, but this boat also shows no sign of stress or flexing /bowing due to a rotten stringer grid and it is very rotten. Now my last build I really didn't bother with the stringers but i did pull the cap which I chose not to do this time due to tackling the stringer system and I don't want to deform the hull when I glass it all back in, plus it was a huge PITA to build two large gantries. Now that I have children and I plan on keeping this boat for some time I have decided to tackle the stringer grid system as I did on the Scarab we rebuilt. SO long story short the list of major surgeries are
-stringers
-remove foam
-remove ****ty transom design and raise splash well while glassing in knew stringer knees to the transom.
-re-power with 4 strokes
-redesign cabin
-add air
-add generator

of course I am positive as with the last few we did there will be tons of small items along the way, but I hope that when I get this done I can finally have something to hold on to (my usual boat possession time frame is only about 3 months). These boats have extremely deep stringer grids which I am hoping to be able to hide some nice additional comforts that didn't go in during the 87 build.

 

[alldodge]

A lot of work for sure but should turn out nice.

 

[peacekeeper6]

Definitely, at least i have some idea on how and where to do it.

 

[peacekeeper6]

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Been lacking on this site so here is an update with some pictures. I have removed the stringers and gas tank and foam along with transom wood. I want to do composite so bad but with Coosa being so high in price I am looking at pourable compounds to bridge that gap between composite and wood. Me being me I just dont want wood in the boat, not because it wont last for years or whatever the argument is but because I just want composite. We removed the tank with half a tank of fuel in it because I couldnt even give the gas away, needless to say I have had a relief at the pump lately. The PO filled it with 300 gallons for me lol before I bought it. Anyway the reason people even look here are the pictures.

 

[peacekeeper6]

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Day 3

 

[peacekeeper6]

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Day 2

 

[peacekeeper6]

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day 1, pics always rattle the brain. That dust collector was built and works great. You can see all the delamination from the bulkheads my build should be much better.

 

[mickyryan]

thought this was wellcraft as well my bad I thought donzi was put together better then that , sigh

 

[peacekeeper6]

thought this was wellcraft as well my bad I thought donzi was put together better then that , sigh

Are you asking if this is a Wellcraft? No its a Donzi and a very poorly made one at that.

 

[mickyryan]

yeah it looked just like my wellcraft that's why I asked lol I had bad layup everywhere especially in the top so I trashed it 1988 wellcraft 170 so around same era I guess

 

[peacekeeper6]

this is my 3rd one and I love these boats. I am putting all the time and effort because I will be keeping this one.

 

[mickyryan]

they are awesome looking boats !
and built correctly as I'm sure you will it should be a keeper

 

[alldodge]

Using wood is of no issue if the wood is sealed correctly, and if screw/drilled holes are sealed correctly. Composites are great in that you won't have to worry if water does get in other then the added weight. Down side with most composites is they won't hold if a screw is used to hold something, it needs to be thru bolted.

Great work going on

 

[peacekeeper6]

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Got the last bit of foam and wood out of the channels that I am going to use to space my molds for my Arjay. I am going to pour all the stringers at a 1inch thickness by whatever height the actual stringer is. I want to get it in one pour because I think that will add to the strength even though it says it can be poured over and over and still be strong. I then will grind, fare and use two layers of 1708 to tab new stringers to the hull. I am debating whether I will encapsulate the whole thing or not. I am going to clean the boat out again tomorrow and start fiberglassing the wooden strips into the sides of the hull for the deck height. I also plan to glass small pieces of wood onto the poured stringers so that I can use them to screw certain items down. My plan is to draw up the stringer gris with fish boxes before I make my molds and then buy the construction foam at lowes to make the molds. they come in 4x8 sheets and are very cheap. I will sandwich the old stringer bed between the two sheets so that I get the maximum amount of contact then tab those to the deck like described above. I will most likely go with some honeycomb for the deck. In the picture I am cutting out the coffin cabin and making all that luscious fishing room. And here are some pictures as of today with the transom completely sanded ready for a pour. An interesting note with the pourable transom I do have the opportunity to go all the way to the hull sides. I called Donzi and all though they say it isnt needed I may do it anyway if I have enough Arjay.

 

[sphelps]

Quite the project you have going .. I have poured a good bit of seacast but have not used the Arjay yet ... Like to tag along and see how that goes .. op2:
If you use the foam for your forms make sure you cover the foam really good with the clear packing tape ... Poly resin will eat the foam ...

 

[peacekeeper6]

ok so heres what I bought and went with, Nautical 15 (3/4inch) Coosa for stringers and bulkheads, SpaceAge 26ib panels for transom (2 x 3/4 inch), Nida-Core Structural Honeycomb Plain for floor with a roll of CSM 1.5oz and a roll of combo mat CSM which I believe is 1708 with 15 gallons of poly resin. Ill pick this up tomorrow and hopefully get the rest of the boat ground out by sunday. install the stuff next week and hang them bad boy motors the following week. Lets see how this goes. Everyone approve my list of materials before I roll on down to west palm and pick up?

 

[sphelps]

That's a really ambitious time frame .. :faint2: ..But I guess it can be done if you can take the time off work .. Please take some pics of the composites that are going in along the way ... Good luck ! This will be fun to watch !

 

[alldodge]

Looking forward to it