Donzi Sportfish Z-65 - "Miss Judie"

I've run tons of 12v71 yachts, but only two with 12v92's. I ran a 58' Striker SF with a 22' beam and it burned 120gph at 1950rpm's. At that speed it cruised at about 20 knots, but was a very big and heavy SF for it's size and some hours on the engines and had the highest HP J&T 12v92's. The 63' ocean SF burned 100gph if you ran it 1950rpms, if you ran it a little less say 1900 rpm's it was down to 90gph's. I've heard and believe that a lighter boat or better running 12v92 will burn less. I've never had that experience running one in an almost new boat, or fresh rebuild so I couldn't say.

I do know 16v2000's burn 150 gph at cruise (both), so I would guess the 16v92's aren't too far off of that being that although a lower HP, they're not computer controlled.......

Ah well in that case, a 58' sportfish with a 22' beam yeah it will burn more. and a large 63' will also burn about 100 gph. It's underpowered, though....

In my case, it runs fast and economical. And yes, 16v2000 do burn about that much, but the 92's burn less. 400 extra horsepower on an engine that's almost the same as its predecessor comes at a price, in this case fuel usage. but believe me, my numbers are exactly accurate, in all my cases.

The Sea Deuce burns a 100 an hour at 22 knots (around 1800 rpm). That's my cruise speed- I'm not a cowboy. The port was fully rebuilt in '06 at Western Branch Diesel in Portsmouth, VA for $68K. New heads, pistons, IC's, superchargers, turbo's etc...
I love the non DDEC 92's @1500HP. I have fewer problems than just about anyone on my dock at Sailfish marina. Electronics on newer engines are a nightmare when they have issues.

LOLOLOLOL. I spent a month at Western Branch in 2007 overseeing the rebuild on a 12v71. It was a HORRIBLE place to stay onboard. They seemed to do good work though, albeit I felt their pace was a little slow.

Donzi R72 Hull # 2

Here is Hull numer 2 in the Donzi 72 era. It is a one of a kind as it was created with the cockpit of a 65 providing more forward room and a massive ownere cabin and study below.

I thought rebuild were suppose to be $2-3k per hole?

A full rebuild of a 16-92 will not be less than $70K IMHO, and take around 2 months.

She use to be keep at Maximo Marina in St. Pete believe the name was Miss Judy the guy that owned also owned two Rybovich< never saw the Donzi move all three boats where Miss Judy

I know this is an old thread, but I have been walking past this Donzi named Miss Judy at Maximo for a couple of weeks when I stumbled into this thread. She is tied up a couple slips from me. She looks like she needs to be used but I really like the lines on this boat!

I may be repeating myself but anyway this boat must be at at Maximo for at least 20 years. When I was at Maximo there where three Miss Judy's the other two where Rybovich's. He had a guy who worked for him full time maintaning these boats. The story was he owned Maximo and had started Home Shopping Neywork. Ron

Not sure if anyone is still wary this post but I’m thinking of moving up from a 55 Ocean SS with 8v92 to a 1988 Donzi z65 with 16v92 figured fuel would double but ride should be better, can anyone tell me if there were any issues with fuel tanks? I’m told it holds 2100gls although most other z65 say 2000gls, any other issues with older Donzi of this size that I should be aware of? Thank you for any responses

Hello … I am looking at a z65 and would like to visit with anyone with some working knowledge of this boat. Thanks

I haven’t seen anyone on here with a 65 since Bamboo left when his Owners sold theirs. There are a few active members with 54’s. The boats are not significantly different other than larger engines, more fuel and an extra stateroom. Many of the electrical and mechanical systems are pretty much the same as is hull construction. It also depends on year model you are looking at as some things changed from the very early models.

Thanks for getting back to me. I am currently reading your repower thread. Good stuff.

You must not have any issue with these older hulls.

You might get more replies if you start a new thread with some info on the boat you are considering (year, engines, hours, gens, etc).

I have had zero hull issues -knock wood

Thanks … I might just do that when I get a little closer. Still working my way thru your RE-power thread. Good Stuff !!!

Hi, did you look at SeaCat?