HookedOnFishingBoats.com

The Donzi 38 ZF is both fast, and fishy.

            If you want to get to the fishing grounds fast-and who doesn't-than a boat like the Donzi 38 ZF will be appealing. With a top-end around 64-mph and a cruising speed in the mid 40's (when rigged with a set of supercharged, four-stroke, triple 275-hp Verados), the 38 ZF makes short work of long canyon runs, but delivers the fishability of a die-hard angling machine once you arrive.

            The trick to zipping along at highway speeds? A 22-degree transom deadrise that's carried on a twin-stepped ventilated hull bottom. The steps introduce air under the hull of the boat, breaking adhesion and reducing friction, to boost speed. When coming onto plane with the vented hull there's virtually no bowrise, because the aft end of the boat doesn?t squat at all. Handling is also sporty-twitch the wheel, and the boat responds instantly-though hard turns do produce an unusual skidding feeling that's similar to "drifting" a sportscar through a turn. And even if one of your powerplants fails, you can still head for home in a hurry; we tilted up an outboard during out sea trial and broke 52-mph, running on two of the Verados.

            Though it may surprise some people, even though Donzi's heritage lies in racing, in the past they've done a pretty darn good job at designing fishboats. Credit the influence of sister-company Pro-Line. Standard features on the 38 ZF, for example, include goodies like a whopping-big 60-gallon lighted livewell, a transom bait prep station with a freshwater sink, port and starboard insulated and macerated fishboxes, a 7'4" long, 2' deep, 3' wide forward fishbox, four gunwale-mount rodholders, five transom holders, four under-gunwale rodracks, a forward 76 quart console cooler, a 204 quart leaning post cooler, and 360-degree gunwale bolsters. Yes, you'll have a long reach to get around those big eggbeaters on the transom, but this is true of most modern outboard-powered go-fast fishboats.

            You and your passengers will have a high comfort level while blasting off for the fishing grounds, thanks to a set of drop-down, wrap-around bolsters at the helm. Other nods to comfort include a console head compartment with 5'6" of headroom (which can be equipped with a portable MSD or a fixed head), and a pull-out freshwater sink/shower.

            You want a mix of speed and lethal fishability? You don't want to rough it, even when you're miles and miles from land? Then check out the 38 ZF. Yeah, it's a speed boat in a fishing boat's clothing-but it delivers a lot more than appearances.

LOA - 38'6"

Beam - 9'5"

Dry weight - 9,800

Fuel capacity - 325

Max. HP - 900