mccaffertee

Dude, YOU are a weasel...WTF? Anything done in a tribute is going to have many similarities in BOTH name and looks. GIVE IT A BREAK. If Donzi has a problem with it, let them go at it, but you are not the "voice" for them, are you?

Hornet Marine

You neglected to mention that this design was first produced by Don Arronow and Donzi in 1964 and has been produced off and on over 46 years.

...
That was the way the article was written. We made it clear that it was a Wynne / Walters Design that Donzi produced


"There's really no other boat on the market that's in that category,"
"Did I miss something? How about the Donzi 16. That comment is a plain lie."
....
Again this was the way the article was written. Other than the Donzi there is no other boat on the market like it. Actually, I make the assumption that the 16 is available somewhere, I am curious if there are any currently on the market.



"Once again, you fail to mention that the Hornet might have been a Wynne/Walters design, but was produced by Donzi. It has been a Donzi staple. It even evolved into the Hornet II and Hornet III. "
...
No one was hiding anything the discussion was around where did the Hornet Name come from. What I said is true. Actually the conversation revolved around the fact That I own a St Tropez which was based on the original Hornet model.



"Now to your website-

http://www.hornetmarine.com/
For the love of god man, do you have no shame? You even ripped off the original Donzi script. "
....
While there are MANY reason to dump on our website. This was not what I expected. We love the script logo.



..."it has become clear you are simply a rip off artist. No originallity. Simply take a proven hull design, make a few changes, rip off Donzi names, scripts, logos, and call it YOUR new boat. Sad my friend."
...
This is the big piece of the puzzle we have a great boat but the real meat of the business is the business model. The only way to impress you here is to execute the model as planed. It is challenging change business practices in this industry but we have a great plan and we feel that all boat owners will benefit from an improved focus on the customer. It will take us a lot of work and a lot of time but I do hope you hold us to these comments. We feel we owe it to you to "prove it"


"What's next a Hornet 2+3? 22?"
...
The original plan was to build a cross between a Hornet III and a St. Tropez. So something like a 23' with three topsides; Fishing, runabout, and sport. This was 5 years ago when we started the planning. As we learned more about the market we realized that this was a highly competitive market and required significantly more production resources. We needed to become profitable to implement our business model before we started building bigger or more complicated boats. The business model is really what we are bringing to the industry. So eventually we will come out with something like a 2+3 but it will be 3 years away

I hope in time we can demonstrate that we have a tremendous amount of respect for the history of performance boating

David

bluellama

David, this quote and the following quote from the Soundings article you posted seem to contradict each other......

"Hartmann says he's not spending a lot of money on R&D. "We've got a proven hull," he says."

If it's a brand new hull how is it proven?

Hornet Marine

It is based on a design that has been around since the 60's.

There are some changes that have not been around for more than a few months but the boat runs fantastic. Better than our expectations. We give demo rides when ever possible. This goes to everyone.

Give us a call and we can try and plan a time to take the boat out. All are welcome.

David
860 516 3141

LAKESIDE RESTORATIONS

I think this is going to get more interesting. I think I will just watch from the side lines for now...

I figured sooner or later there would be some sort of lively discussions over this...

mattyboy

funny thing is the "sweet 16" was popped from a 16 splash being made at the time so donzi woulld fail on the built from scratch thingy or the 10 percent rule too. so a splash is no good but a splash of a splash is ok ????????????????????why cause it has donzi decals on it??????????????????

from 1980 to 1990 Donzi gave up on the 16 sold off or destroyed the molds where does that fit in to the pedigree of the line ????????

the 16 had more than one bottom so which one did they splash ???

wish em well hope it works out it is tough out there
it is good when the buyer has options, and competition drives quality and superior products which is good too

alot of boats came from that rounded keel 24 degree design..

scarabman

Dont really know why people are jumping on Hornet. The number of builders that splashed/copied hulls is high. If you trace back the lineage of many boats you will find splashes. Hornet seems to be upfront about this. If they didnt break the law, whats the beef?

Donziweasel

Well Matty, the fact is regardless of when Donzi quit making the 16, started again, etc..... it was thier boat to begin with since 1964. On top of that, it is a CURRENT production boat of Donzi.

Coupled with the fact that Hornet has plagarized the Donzi Marine script, I think it sucks. Everything they have done is an insult to Donzi. The name Hornet, one of Donzi's first production boats, copying the 16 (complete with hook), scripts, etc... Hell, I might have even supported the damn thing if they had done the splash without all the Donzi plagarism and made thier own brand.

Wonder if David wasn't such a loyal member of the LGDCC if you and Pearson would have the same opinion. Hmmm.....would you let a Vance, Cobalt or Python into your dustoff? Hell no. You are defending David because he is a freind and a member of the LGDCC, nothing more. If you want to give an opinion, give an unbiased one.

David, people tell me you are a good guy. While this may be true, you have gone the wrong way about building and promoting your boat. Some of the Donzi community support you (although I think some have other motives), but is seems much more do not. It is not too late to make this a respectful splash and not just a Donzi plagarism. Think about it.

mattyboy

I gave an honest opinion that's all I can do

Donziweasel

Well, here is a qoute from the LGDCC President on another forum-

Since you are as big a part of the club as the Pres, considering the above statement, how can you say you can give an honest and unbiased opinion? He is, as stated, a freind, long standing member, and a loyal member. An exception was made to rules that have been pretty much set in stone. He is probably the first non-Donzi to be in the show in the history of the dustoff. Danny doesn't count because he was not in the show. So, does your honest opinion count towards Vance? Cobalt? Chris Craft? Python? Lenco? If I showed up with a Vance, would I be allowed in the show?

Matty, not trying to start anything, but I think your "honest opinion" would be more honest if you had never met David or if he was not a "freind" and "loyal" and "long standing" member of the LGDCC.