38 Cigarette or Active Thunder 37?
 

I am adding this thread from the General discussion area in hope of generating some response from some Cigarette owners.

I am looking for some help in deciding the right boat. I am looking at a Cigarette 38 or Active Thunder 37. All of my my time will be offshore in south Florida. I am looking for a Cigarette 38 conventional bottom with big power, Cigarette 38 step hull with 500EFI, or Active Thunder 37 step hull with 500EFI. All will run 80+. My main concern is ride. Second is holding it's value, and third is cabin amenities. Cigarette is certainly on top with holding it's value, however the cabin amenities on the 2001 and newer models is nonexistent. Open to suggestions.

Thank you for looking, James

What kind of boat do you have now?

Do you really think you will use the cablin that much?

Cigarette will customize a cabin for you.

CIGARETTE - CIGARETTE - CIGARETTE..... There is no question !

Contact Phil at Lip-Ship Performance in North Miami. I have just worked a deal on a new boat and am trading my 2000 TS Top Gun. The boat will run 90MPH with 500EFI's and Bravo XR's...no joke!! It would make an awesome poker run boat. It is very clean, very reliable and very fast. I just wanted to go faster!! This is a picture of it below. Feel free to e-mail me for any more pictures.

www.lipship.com

:)

Nice Cig!...how much?

BTW, I think these A/T guys are a bit goofy on this topic in the GD section.
An A/T dosen't add up to a Cig.

Heck, not even 2 A/T's add up to one Cigarette!! After all, Cigarette IS the American Offshore Legend!

I do not know what price Lip-Ship Performance has put on the boat. Contact Phil for the asking price. His number is (305) 933-9988 or contact them from their web site (a fantastic Cigarette site I might add).....

www.lipship.com


I loved this boat to death and just want to see it get a good home. I know that only the crowd on here can relate to that kind of feeling! Phil is a good guy and will no doubt work an honest deal on any boat. If you are looking for a Cigarette, Lip-Ship is your place! I can't say enough about them!!!

Oh yea.....this boat also has an awesome Sunbrella travel/storage cover! It fits like a glove. No movement whatsoever on the highway!

:)

I looked at both boats I ended up buying a new 38 Top Gun T/S should take delivery in about 2 weeks. In my opinion the finish on the cigarette is much nicer than the A/T in every respect.
As far as the cabin I wanted something very simple and the cigarette was perfect. But i'm sure neil at the factory is capable of doing what ever you want in they way of a fancy cabin. But really think about how much you will use that cabin before you dump a lot of money into it.
I have never taken a ride in the A/T So I can't comment on the ride.One thing I do know is that the few people that own A/T's love them. The price I was quoted for a 37 AT from steve was not much less than what I purchased my cigarette for. And there is no doubt in my mind that I will make up that difference when it's time to move up to another boat. Just look at the resale history of the two boats.

HOT DUCK Who made that cover for you? It really looks nice. Is it one or two pieces?

HOT DUCK Who made that cover for you? It really looks nice. Is it one or two pieces?

A local company called "Canvas Experts" made this cover. Griff on this board has one of their covers on a 28' Pantera too. These guys do incredible work. They can be reached at 410-641-2228. The cover on Griff's Pantera is one piece, but the cover on my old Cigarette (pictured above) is 2 pieces. It zips across the boat in the middle and has a protective flap to keep the zipper from damaging the boat (kinda like a pair of pants). They can do it all in one piece with no problem, but I wanted 2 pieces so that it would be easier to fold and manage while off of the boat. You better believe that when my new boat is ready, the guys at Canvas Experts will be busy again with a full cover for it too!

Thanks for the Info!

The boat has somewhere around 150 hours on it. The engines and drives are 2001's and were put in the boat in October 2001 (when the new XR drives were released). When the XR drive was first released it was available only as a package with an engine. For this reason the original 500EFI's and bravo drives were replaced by new 500EFI's and the new XR drives. Since then they have logged somewhere around 30-40 hours. I'll post a picture of them below.

:)

Will
NO NO NO you cant sell your boat
It is an ICON of OCMD
you wake up the beaches when you come flying down the coast with that thing throttled up!!!!
Everyone stops, kids with their kites stop dead in their tracks, Binoculars all get whipped out and cameras ect
Dude you have the REAL OC ROCKET not that yellow bumble bee hatteras or whatever that thing is

Oh man this is a sad day
(now im even more pissed cause if I had the money, I would buy it in a heart beat too!!!)
Damn damn damn damn damn damn it damn it damn it
All I have to say is the new one better be nicer (that is really tough to do considering you have the prettiest cleanest cig I have ever seen)

What did the guys think?
Well I wish you good luck with your new one and PICTURES man PICTURES
Send me PICTURES!!!!!!!!!!

Talk to you later
Jason

Troutly - I have sent the info that you requested to the e-mail address that you provided. Thanks.

Jayl13 - Thank you for the compliments. This boat is pretty well known around here, but I decided to build a canopied gladiator and jump into racing with both feet. Rest assured that you will see the new boat running up an down the coast this summer waking up the dead and all of those people trying to sleep and relax on the beach! As the saying goes...practice makes perfect. Our advantage is that we (my throttleman and myself) get the chance to run with each other almost daily and it is all ocean time! It really killed me to let this 38 go because it was my dream boat...the one that I always wanted. I can guarantee that I will be back in a Top Gun some day, but for now we want the safety of the canopy on the race course. It is a tough trade, but safety comes first.

Will,
I wish you the best and I Cant wait to see what you have up your sleeve this summer!!!
Safety first yes absolutely

I know racing you in the baja will be 100% pointless but we will have to pound some waves (with me way way behind you)
Come on SUMMER!!!!!!!!!!!!
Dying here for some warm weather
Good luck with your new ride and cant wait to check it out
as for the cig, hell I have about 2 rolls of film of it so you ever want the beach combers view or the beach condo view, let me know
Thanks for the memories with the cig and cant wait for new ones in the years to come
Jason

We'll run with the Baja any day. I am not picky. I like all fast boats! It will be a little different inside the canopy, but at least I will not need sunblock this summer! As far as the speed difference...no big deal. We'll cruise up the coast together and give the beach dwellers a good show!

Hot Duck, Very nice boat, I like your cover, pretty slick:D Good luck in your racing career:)

Cigarette with no question!

I had both boats Cigarette & AT! What do I have now "CIGARETTE” they are the best no question.

I personally would not deal with Pat at AT again!

How would you like to drive 1200 miles to pick up your boat and find out when you got there they had a weeks worth of work left.
OH I left out the best part "I called Pat just before I left for the trip and asked if the boat was ready? Yes come and pick it up!"

This is my dealing with Pat - don't make your decision on this - AT is a nice boat but not in the same league as Cigarette!

Whats up with that?

AT fit and finish work ?
 

Go to www.activethunderboats.com look at the first boat under construction on page two . Enlarge the pic of the stringer system and look how crooked the center stringer is . It looks like the atlantic ocean during a hurricane . I feel sorry for the guy buying that boat hold on the wheel tight buddy. Cigs blow AT away hands down :) :)

From the info I have collected on the Active thunders and from riding on the Cigs, they are both great boats. I would have to favor the cig now, because I have never been on an Active Thunder.

25 Outlaw,

It looks pretty straight to me. :confused: Is it possible that it is distorted because of the way you enlarged the picture, or maybe because of the way the picture was taken? Maybe it is my eyes though, I do have a tentancy to get a bit bleary eyed.:D

UUmmmmm.........Outlaw, the material AT uses in their structural members is called Mantex and is a man-made material(kind of a soft plastic). It is water proof and cannot rot or warp. There is no way the stringer is "crooked". I also stood in that boat about the time that picture was taken and I can tell you if it is crooked enough to see in that little picture, it would have been real noticeable in person-it was not. Add to that the fact that the guys having those boats built are sooooooo anal:D and seem to spend half their lives down at the AT factory-don't you think someone would have said something by this time?????

OTOH-maybe that's why Dan hasn't got the motors in there yet-they can't get the mounts to line up.....That stuff about the Eickert motors is just a cover up-Yeah, that's the ticket:rolleyes:

outlaw,

That is my boat that is being built right now and while I appreciate your genuine concern for my safety, and that you feel sorry for me, I have inpected the stringer system very closely and I can tell you it is not as as crooked as the atlantic ocean during a huricane, actually it is straight.:) And yes, I have been down to the factory during each critical stage of the process to check things out, and yes insptech is correct I am very anal about my boat. Once it is done, please feel free to come and check it out. I am in Long Beach Island and belong to the NJPPC club and plan on doing the AC Poker Run in June. I see you are from Malvern so we are not that far apart.:cool: :D

Dan, you know I only mean anal in an affectionate way:D

legendary

Gotta love those Cig ads:D

Bet we can all remember the Donzi ad with the blond too.

Re: AT fit and finish work ?
 

25Outlaw,

You are right on buddy! "Cigs blow AT away hands down"
I had an AT and now own a Cigarette! I would never deal with Pat at AT again and feel sorry for anyone who does! I'll be nice and not tell about all my dealings and problems with AT!!

Dan,

What size AT are you having built? If you want I can give you some credible information on my 28 AT that I had built about 1 year ago and since sold!

Man that boat in the ad looks like my boat! How many do you think they made with the black/silver/green stripe combo??

fit and finish ?
 

Dan,
I have seen AT finish work and unless they have come a long way since 99 they have a long way to go to catch the Cigs. I hope that you did inspect the stringers good and the pic is wrong. By the way I am good friends with AC and his boat had a very crooked stringer in it so it is posible for them to be crooked. I am not trying to knock At boats I think they are nice boats but they are not in the same class as a Cig

Hey Hot Duck,


Where do I get a cover like that for my Cigarette?

AC
:D

Hey AC, you have no clue what the hell your talking about, thats my boat . Get some glasses or a new pair of eyes, those stringers along with the other 3 - 37 Thunders I inspected on a surprise visit from the A.T. plant on wed are as straight as an arrow. If you have a problem with A.T., thats fine, but why start bull**** about stringers thats not true, I thought you had more class than that, remember there are always two sides of a story, money talks and bull**** walks, the guy that bought your boat loves it, there are no problems with it, you just didnt want it.

25 Outlaw, they have improved vastly since 99, but you have allready made your mind up, so why waste my time, and just to stick it up your educated asses so much, if they were so terrible of a boat why Thursday and Friday they sold 2 Cigarette guys new 37 AVHs. You will shortly find out who they are, So you figure it out, whether they have improved or not. Sincerely Jeff Jassby

Jeff,

The only At I have been on for any amount jof time is a 99 so maybe they have come a long way since then. In 99 the customer was not that great either. But 3 years is a long time to improve . The pic on the web site has a crooked stringer , it could be the pic or the angle or something but that puppy is crooked in the pic.I am not saying your boat is not a nice boat because I have not seen a new one yet but from my experiences with what my brother in law went through to make his boat right in 99 with his thunder put a bad taste in my mouth.I am not sure there is enough room on this board to list his problemshe had to deal with with not much help from Pat.I hope to see one of your boats somewhere , spent some time on and maybe it will cange my mind. Intil then I can only go on my experiences of them . I will be attending the NYC poker run hope to see you guys out there. I do think AT boats have a solid feel to themand are good boats but not in the same class as a cig Jim

Jim, its unfortunate that Ac had problems, and its hard too please everyone 100% of the time, everyones needs and pocket books influence what we do, I'll leave it at that. All I can say is my experience along with everyone elso that owns a Thunder have been more than I have expected. They have done more than any of the other three boat manufactures I have owned, plus show you whats going on their website. The crooked stringers are definetly incorrect, I just came back Wed. from Jamica, had a 3 hour layover from Miami and did a surprise visit, checked on my boat, Thunder Dans, H20s, and saw 2 other stringer systems, straight as an arrow, so its the website or your computor. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and yes, Cigarettes are great boats, I feel overpriced, but you know you have that heritage thing that you guys mentioned.;) I wish you guys good luck, and Thunder Dan is closer to you, you will see him at the N.Y. poker run, check his boat out, go for a ride, then make your desicion. Take Care:D Jeff Jassby

travel cover
 

hot duck
i really like your full cover and am wondering how you slip it over the tow eye and trailer stop. Do you have to put it on before loading it on the trailer or is there a seam somewhere that doesnt show on your photos. Finally what is the approx cost of all that material and labor???