ikanscuba

Ok guys so I am looking at a cig, however within my budget I am looking at either a bullet, top gun or cafe racer.. Possibly flat deck 38

What can you advise me about the different hulls, weight, ride in the rough water.. and top speed..

Cafe racers really are what I am leaning to..

Thanks!!!

thisistank

If you can afford an early to mid 90's Top Gun then don't bother with the rest. No offense to cafe, flat deck or Bullet owners but the classic (timeless) lines of a Top Gun will be "easier" to sell later & is regarded by many as one of the best handling rough water boats ever built. Plus the cabin and cockpit layout (especially the cabin) on the 90's and above Guns is one of the best designed interiors ever (in my opinion).

When I was looking to buy a Cig 4 years ago I was pertty much dead set on a Cafe. I had a lot of seat time in a 93 Cafe that a buddy owned and loved the ride and look of it. When I spoke to Phil at Lip-Ship he talked me into a Gun...And I've never had a second guess of my decission.

However, if you come across a smokin' deal on a Cafe then go for it. The 90's + cafe's have almost identical layout cabin and cockpit and ride (almost) as good as a Top Gun in rough water.

As for a bullet or flat deck. You're talking boats that are going to really start showing their age. I've seen a couple super clean Bullets that I wouldn'nt mind owning but they are few and far between. And the same goes for flatdecks. If the boat hasn't been updated professionally then you're going to quickly burn up that money you saved on purchase while updating and repairing.

In the end, no matter what you end up with, I'm sure you'll be happy. As long as it has the big red one on the side, you'll be set!

Chris Sunkin

I'd say it depends on alot of things. If I were a lake boater and didn't really spend much time below deck, the cafe would be a more economical boat. For bigger water, the 38 does have an edge. But at the end of the day, it's all about budget. If you're not able to do all the minor and moderate and a good part of the heavy work on the boat yourself, and you are $$ limited, I'd look for a newer boat that's smaller. Bigger is only better if it runs.

maritaltension

at my local marina there is a nice cafe early 90's , any way noticed he is working on it the other day ,the hull sides separated where they meet the bottom , they were pullin the interior out , and goin to town fixin it , so are all cafe's made this way ,seemed little flimsy, the dude was not in a good mood so i just left him alone , tank , chris you guys ever heard of this before ?

thisistank

You talking delaminating at the chine? Only other Cig I"ve seen that happen to personally is the "Pink Flamingo" Top Gun. It hit a telephone pole or tree while on a poker run to cause the delamination.

Hollowpoint

My response to the question can't be answered without more info. Ikanscuba, where are you located? What kind of boating? How much can you spend on the boat? How much can you spend each year for fuel and maintenance?

If you can only spend $25-50K, then I would say try to find any you mentioned with the most updates. I've been on a few poker runs and have had no problem staying with larger boats unless I run out of horsepower. Ocean legs of the runs have included 3-5 footers. Last year on a poker run with about 65 boats, I was about 10th for the ocean leg and maybe 5 of the boats in front me were Cigs. So short story is I think they are ALL GOOD hull designs and can handle more seas than the driver can usually.

As far as weights go, I have a 1988 brochure that has the approx net weight at:
Bullet = 8000
Cafe = 9000
Top Gun = 9800
These are probably off some, with each model probably weighing 200-800 more.

Top speed? Probably the most loaded question. Speed cost money. A bullet probably needs about 600-625hp per side to hit 80mph. If each boat had the same power, I would think the Bullet and Cafe would be about equal on speed, and the Top Gun 2-3mph slower. There are many on this site with more first hand knowledge of comparing the boats speeds, so maybe they can post up better stuff.

Chris Sunkin

Cafe is nothing more than a 35 with a different deck. nothing really changed in the design. They are exceptionally robust. Father of Resin Bucket, if you catch the reference. You would have to either hit something or jump it off of one of those perfect Storm waves to bust it like you're describing. I've seen a few cracked- like cashbrain's. But at the stringer, not out at the chine.

seafordguy

My 2 Cents.....

In calm water all of them will probably run relatively close in speed since they are all heavy flat bottoms - probably within 5-7mph of each other with comparable power. In rougher conditions obviously length helps, and there is a reason the Top Gun is the most sold Cig ever - that being said I think that most people see better resale on the TG's.

The difference in cockpit space from a bullet to a cafe is fairly noticeable if you ask me. More noticeable than the difference from the cafe to the gun. All the bullets had one style cabin (that I am aware of) and it is very "useable" in all aspects of the word. The cabin style in the Cafe's and Gun's changed in 1990 to what a lot of people herald as the greatest middle sized performance boat cabin yet (enclosed head, drink mixing table, built in cooler). The only difference between the Cafe and Gun interior after 1990 is that the couch in the Gun's flows into the v-berth and in the Cafe it is seperate.

Personally - I like the lines of the Cafe better. The "windshield" area of the Gun's are straight across versus the Cafe's which are angled and sloped towards the edges of the boat. I really love that look on the Cafe Racers. I also like that the deck has the non-skid recessed section. The girls lay out in it, and it also is nice after the dew starts falling - especially if I have had a few rounds of cheap vodka. The way I use my boat, I don't miss the 3 feet.

With regard to what Maritialtension mentioned - a build quality issue with this brand would be a rarity. To destroy a Cig you would just about have to chuck it off the trailer at highway speeds. The Cafe's did have an issue that you can research with the bolt holes for "SOME" of the trim tabs. I don't believe that it is widespread....

If you are towing it much - you will definitely feel the difference between the bullett and the TG - either way though, you will need a decent size truck. Most on this board with these mentioned boats use a 1 ton diesel dually.

On the subject of flatdecks/mistresses - while I find the older stuff really cool, as my first boat I didn't feel I had the money or knowledge it would take to properly care for one of those boats, since most of them will need TLC, I found it smarter to buy the boat I wanted already done (to the extent my budget allowed)

Chris Sunkin

All Cig 35's (flat-deck/Mistress/Awesome/Cafe) are susceptible to this- one bolt in each side's trim tab is positioned right at the end of the stringer. This necessitates using a stainless lag screw in this position. If the bolt is removed, it needs to be reinstalled with copious amounst of silicone in the hole. Failing to do so allows water to get in and rot the transom and stringer end. If I had to guess, 15-to-20% of all the 35's Ive ever seen had rot and always in this area.

BDiggity

i heard mine had this issue when a previous owner had it & a new transom was put on. Not sure if its 100% true or not but my survey didnt reveal any problem. i guess its another thing i can check over the off-season.