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2001 Donzi 38 ZX Photos
2001 Donzi 38 ZX Test Details
| Category | Performance Boat |
| Length | 37ft 9in / 11.28 m |
| Beam | 115ft / 35.05 m |
| Fuel Capacity | 878 L |
| Weight | 11,500 lb |
| Dealers | Contact Donzi Boats Dealers |
| Buyers Guides | Search For Donzi Boats Buyers Guides |
| Boats For Sale | Search For Donzi Boats For Sale |
2001 Donzi 38 ZX Description
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Donzis enticingly beautiful 38 ZX is both wide and
deep, boasting over six feet of headroom in the cabin. But size alone
does not luxury high performance make. This beamy offshore boat is fast!
Tied to the pier, the 38 ZX looks like a performance yacht. Make no mistake about it, Donzi is proud of this ma-chineand their logo is
well-pronounced.
With a 9 '3" beam, the 38 ZX is approximately 9 inches wider than most boats in its class. I consider it to be a performance boat that makes senseyou can eat, sleep, entertain and walk around in the cabin. Try doing that with other 38-foot offshore boats.
Luxuries include white upholstery, large storage compartments located below the seats and pads, a hanging clothes locker, stand-up private salon/dining area and a seven-foot-long V-berth. The galley comes with stove, microwave, sink and refrigerator. Its bright too, with two translucent deck hatches that let light in whether open or closed. Too hot? The air conditioner will cool you down fast.
The cockpit also benefits by the extra girth. The aft bench seats four, rather than the usual three, passengers. Operator and companion are treated to adjustable electric bolster seats and power footrests. Aft standing passengers have stainless steel grab-bars securely fastened to the bolsters, and the aft bench has headrests for upper-back support.
Coolers have been installed under the bench and port-
side console, but functional stowage is limited in the cockpit. The dash, however, is very well-engineered, with Gaffrig instrumentation grouped by engine, spanning the tachometers and speedometer.
Under the soft yet supportive sun-padded hatch lie twin HP 500 EFIs with Bravo performance drives from Mercury Racing, considered the standard these days for reliable offshore power. Gusty winds had whipped up the waves on Lake Simcoe, ideal conditions for this 11,500-pound boat, so I estimated speeds in the high 60s.
In fact, the Donzi 38 ZX pulled out a top-end speed
of 75.3 mph at 5,100 rpm. The twin step, aft-ventilated Z-Tech hull has a 22-degree deadrise at the transom. Wide chines, strakes and eight-inch running pad help balance the boat when trimmed high, and helps it track with accuracy through the turns.
Accelerating to plane in 5.8 seconds with tabs level, not completely down, the boat keeps its bow low, yet the depth of the cockpit and height of the deck requires one to maintain good posture for optimum visibility. The 500 EFIs have great mid-range power and the Donzi would pull from 0 to 50 mph in 12 seconds, approximately the same time it took to accelerate from 40 to 70 mph.
Running 60 mph at 4,300 rpm seemed effortless. With tab adjustments, the hull ran straight as a die.
The 38 ZX slaloms nicely at cruising speeds and completes wide-radius turns without difficulty, strimmed level or slightly negative.
Construction highlights include Plexus bonded hull and deck joints, vacuum-bagged balsa core in the hullsides, a cockpit liner and Divinycell closed-cell foam coring of bulkheads, stringers and the transom. Donzis 38 ZX is built toughto be driven hard.
2001 Donzi 38 ZX Test Specifications
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Test boat engines:
two Mercury Racing HP 500 EFI, 470-hp,
8.2-litre (502-cid) V-8 gasoline engines
driving four-blade 26-inch pitch
props through Bravo performance sterndrives.
Acceleration
mph sec. mph sec.
0-20 5.94 0-40 9.94
0-30 7.40 0-50 12.84
Top speed (GPS)
rpm mph
5,100 75.3
Cruising speed (GPS)
rpm mph
3,150 40
3,500 50
4,300 60
5,000 70
Speed testing by Garmin GPS
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