1990 Donzi F-23 Walkaround

[Benton10]

Hey guys,
Got myself a 1990 Donzi F-23 walkaround a few months ago. Regular transom for outboard setup, no bracket. Couldn’t find much online besides some pictures of the same boat for sale. A Donzi portfolio that included this boat as well as others made that year. This post / thread is my attempt to shed some light on the ins & out of this Donzi 1990 F-23 W/A. If anyone is familiar with this boat I do have some questions on the actual build of this boat as I am also in the process of restoring / fixing this boat back to factory standards.

Donzi portfolio - specs - https://media.donzimarine.com/media/1094/donzi-boats-1990-brochure.pdf

 

[Benton10]

1990 Donzi F-23 W/A
previous owner had twin 70hp Suzuki’s - year 2000
boat sat in water and the lowers got corroded & destroyed. I purchased the boat for cheap and have slowly cleaned / taken off one motor / removed wire harness & controls / checked bilge pumps / drained any water in boat. I will post pics & updates as I continue working on it.

Problems
- Deck draining & bilge pump hoses need to be replaced / relocated.

- water in cuddy cab floor ( seems like when the boat is on the trailer water doesn’t travel towards the bilge area... cuddy cab floor has a bilge pump that wasn’t working.. replacing it and hoping that keeps it dry )

-Dirt everywhere, needs a good cleaning

-No motor

-Unknown gas tank condition

-Foam beneath the cockpit area appears to be wet

My Goals -
*Fix deck drainage ( existing thru hull drainage is really close to the waterline )
*Remove bottom paint
*Grind / repair stress cracks
*Prep & Paint deck / topside
*Install new radio / antenna / speakers
*Install new motor
*Possibly fabricate some sort of t-top roof

p.s. - tried uploading some pics but it’s giving me a hard time.

 

[sphelps]

Benton , I think you have to have a couple more post before you can post pictures ..
Welcome aboard !

 

[Woodonglass]

Uhhhmm I'm betting, based on your description, that you have a LOT more issues than what you've listed. Wet foam below deck is a BAD sign. Most 28 year old boats need a LOT of attention. I'd recommend a much more thorough inspection of the boat, especially the transom, motor mounts, and stringers below deck.

 

[Benton10]

Sorry for the Late Reply , have an old glass pro boat I use for spearfishing that needed some attention.

Update on Donzi -
So I did a little more digging & couldn’t ignore the wet foam I saw / felt on the inside of the drain holes that were located on the sides of the hull. I wanted to take the easy way out and just tell myself it probably wasn’t a big deal.. but I couldn’t, so I cut the floor out... unfortunately for me, 90+% of the foam between the stringers was bone dry..the little bit that was saturated I removed. Pics to come.

 

[chevymaher]

Mine was like that to. Foam was 95% bone dry. Only where there was a air gap was it wet from years of water sitting in that space.

 

[Scott Danforth]

assume that you need to separate the cap and do a full restoration. from there, if you dont have to do a full restoration, consider yourself lucky

 

[kcassells]

Ya'd think someone would have a way to prevent foam from getting wet!!! Geez...……….lol

 

[chevymaher]

Ya'd think someone would have a way to prevent foam from getting wet!!! Geez...……….lol

I think it is the amazing concept of not letting the boat fill with standing water for years. Easiest way I see.

 

[Benton10]

So I have some updating to do. I’ve actually been working on the Donzi for the last 9 months, here and there, whenever I have some extra time. I felt wet foam, cut the floor out... unfortunately instead of cutting the floor on the flat part like most people typically would ( I didn’t know what I was thinking ) I ended up marking around the floor about 2 inches up along the sides where the floor curves up, then cut all around just to realize i wouldn’t be able to pull the floor out... disaster... so I then cut the floor down the center hoping to pull the floor out in 2 halves... that didn’t work.. so I cut across the other way... 4 squares with 2 inches of the upward section... rookie move.

Cant post pics cuz it says the files are too big... appreciate the comments so far and advice.. if anyone knows how to include the replies of others in a new reply let me know how that works. I would like to reply back to those who gave input. My posts are gonna be just explaining what I did, what mistakes I made, my thoughts and ideas & the new progress I’m making. Currently I just foamed between the stringers with 2 part pour foam - 2lb density.. used about 4 gallons of each part... expensive stuff here in Hawaii.. almost made me cry :faint2:$500 for 5 gallons of each

 

[Benton10]

So I butcher the floor taking it out.. next move, I remove these foamed compartments sitting on the subfloor... it has drainage leading out the side of the hull... I notice there’s barely any slope between the drain and the through hull drain.. but I figured it didn’t need much slope cuz it was about a foot away from the hull hole..

why the foam was wet - the bilge hoses running from the cockpit & deck to the bilge were rotted and cracked.. any water from rain would leak onto the ‘subfloor’ & without the boat being tilted higher than how the trailer sits normally, the water was pooling and slowly getting under the floor instead of ending up in the bilge , then pooling In the low spots of the foam.. ( when the factory foamed the boat, it poured it through holes drilled in the wood covering the compartments between the stringers leaving some space down there where the foam didn’t fully fill all the voids ) eventually the foam soaked in the water.. most of the foam was dry. Some areas just the top inch was wet, other spots good sized chunks were saturated.

 

[Benton10]

Donzi F-23 walkaround continued...

So I cut out the fiberglassed & gel coated boards that covered the foamed areas between the stringers... the gas tank was in the middle with an inch of foam
Used a small flat shovel & some pry bars & lots of patience to pop out the foam... lots of it was dry but there was definitely some saturated foam as well.. worked my way from the bilge area up to under the cockpit / steering area.. all the foam under the cockpit area was super dry and the foam more to the rear was were the saturation was happening. I took out all foam from the cockpit area towards the transom and the foam forward of that I left in because there was no moisture or wetness I could find...

if you have any suggestions or advice on what to look for or what I should replace at this point in time, I’m all ears.. any help or guidance is surely welcome. More to come.. sorry it’s turning into a novel but I’m hoping someone out there will read this and learn from my mistakes

 

[Benton10]

Donzi F-23 walkaround continued...

Gas tank - I believe it holds 115 gallons. Aluminum tank, Located under the floor, center of boat... access hole in the center of the floor as well as up front in the cockpit area... appears to have about an inch of foam lining the space it sits in ( between stringers )...

i cut out an inspection port near the rear where the fuel sender & ‘fuel out’ fitting.. tank has baffle walls and appears to be clean with no sign of holes or leaks from the area I can see... soaked up any liquid in the rear of the tank and vacuumed the little bits of particles that settled near the rear. Tank passes the visual inspection.. I don’t think it’s necessary to make more inspection holes based on how clean & undamaged the interior looked. If anyone knows any other tricks or tips let me know

 

[kcassells]

Busy Boy! Take phone or camera pic, email to yourself. It auto reduces to em size. Save in file then post.
I'd say you have a complete redo. That's when you can pressure test the tank.

 

[Benton10]

Busy Boy! Take phone or camera pic, email to yourself. It auto reduces to em size. Save in file then post.
I'd say you have a complete redo. That's when you can pressure test the tank.

Thanks for the pic solution. Just read up a bunch of pages on your boat rehab. Just the kind of info I need. I have a lot of reading and research to do but I’m ready to get this boat back in the water. Thanks again!

 

[kcassells]

Sorry you had to read my thread. You still awake?
Looking forward to your progress. Time to go out and make some hairy pb.