Wow, awesome. I love these build/resto threads.

Also a big fan of the 20' cigs. Please keep the updates and pics coming, such a cool project!

Guys,

Great looking Boat! I too am looking for a 1979 20' Cigarette... What do you think a guy should pay for a restored 1979 20' if it could be found? Any idea where I could find what vulnerabilities would exist in a 35 year old 20' Cigarette and what questions should be asked to verify it is a sound boat? What is the reputation of the wood stringers and transom? Also would like to find pictures of the original 1979 brochure...any idea where one would look?

Thanks in advance for any advice and help!

RL

That's a tough one, the only cig 20 i know of for sale is at pier 57. As for vulnerabilities, I would say that it would have the same as any 35 year old boat. Mine had quite a bit of corrosion from salt water and cracks in the paint. The transom and stringers were solid in mine, but of course you would have to check on any boat that you may be looking at.

-Derek

Hi All,

Sorry for the delay in posting more pics. I'll try to make this pretty good, there will be quite a few photos to make up for the lack of posts! Obviously the boat returned from paint, and was sent back to performance marine. I kept getting more pics of the boat and started to get pretty antsy, I was very excited to see it for the first time.

First pics after arriving at performance marine:
http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/...s85eb1c1b.jpeg

http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/...s836126bb.jpeg


It would unfortunately be a little while before I myself could make it back up to the lake to get back to work, but RedMatter and RockS18 were good enough to take the boat back to Valhalla. I was shocked when I saw it finally! The pictures do not to justice for not only the quality of the paint job, but the overall look and appearance of the boat. Alas, it was time to get some work done! While RedMatter and Rocky did some work to the Squadron, I got to work lining up the k-planes. We went with 280 k-planes, and installing them turned out to be a 3 person job. I was a bit too nervous to be drilling holes in the new paint, so somehow I convinced RedMatter to do it. This seemed good to me, until it turned out that I would be responsible for the 5200! What a messy job! Rocky jumped in the back of the boat and installed the nuts and washers.

http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/...scd1a83b8.jpeg

http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/...s6c22c6f3.jpeg

http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/...sebf9d70a.jpeg

http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/...sf1d24bc4.jpeg



And of course...what good is a boat without beer!?!?!
http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/...s4ab3422b.jpeg

http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/...s94fc91e5.jpeg

After staying at Valhalla for a little while, it was once again time to bring the cig BACK to performance marine. We loaded the motor on the truck - not even sure how we managed this one! I think we had the hoist up as high as it could possibly go just to get it in the bed, but it worked. Then we hooked up the trailer and took her on the road. Of course, the boat was pretty light in the trailer, so Rocky and I jumped in to help weigh down the boat for a short drive...

http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/...se0fad095.jpeg

http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/...s63bd5b5c.jpeg



Once back at performance marine, they got to work doing what they do. First up was the install of the motor and the drive. After several calls to Cigarette, the conclusion was to mount the motor as high as possible to get the highest possible x dimension. This made for a tight fit, especially considering the storage bins were left intact on either side of the motor.

http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/...ps64ba8b1b.jpg

http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/...psf5c49bca.jpg

We cut a new hole in the back seat (to be covered with a piece of aluminum), because it was such a tight fit. This was just for ease of access to the front of the motor.
http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/...ps4de259c3.jpg

With the motor on, it was drive time:
http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/...ps7ac5ec44.jpg

http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/...sce30be54.jpeg

http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/...se05f6d6e.jpeg

http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/...s3448e988.jpeg

As you can see in the photos, we went with a full imco hydraulic steering
http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/...s516a27c7.jpeg


Performance also put together a great dash for the boat. Initially, we wanted to wrap it in carbon fiber, and have a carbon fiber stripe go down the center of the boat. They put together something in black, and it looked so amazing, that I decided to keep it that way.

http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/...s5eafe371.jpeg

http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/...s8366dc07.jpeg

http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/...s1735ac47.jpeg

http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/...s3330a836.jpeg

Very nice in every regard!! Thanks for showing the progress.

great job keep the updates coming i love these threads :nicethread:

Then finally, I got a call in mid September that the boat was ready for me to take out....As you can imagine I was very excited considering that I wasn't able to take the boat out at all last summer. Of course, it just so happened to be the roughest day on the lake last season! Perfect way to get out on the boat for the first time. The first thing we did was take the boat to the gas dock to fill her up, and as you can see, the waves practically submerged the back end of the boat! I had been in some rough water with this boat prior to the rebuild, and I knew it could handle it like a champ, but in many was I was driving a new boat for the first time. Every thing was different, including the seating position of the driver. With that said I didn't get the real feel for the boat on this run, considering we were just trying to get back to the dock alive! We did take the boat out later in the the evening, but the water was still pretty rough...and we conveniently blew both k-lane fuses....right when one was up, and the other was down! Sure made for a challenge in the dark!

Prior to launch:
http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/...s18db4ba7.jpeg

Sinking at the gas dock!!!
http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/...s1e8b6235.jpeg

Rough water:
http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/...s26d9ed21.jpeg

Getting drenched:
http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/...s665962e1.jpeg

Screen shot from a video clip:
http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/...sd56a5d1b.jpeg

Rocky was kind enough to let me borrow his lift for the night:
http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/...sa8ee3aac.jpeg

http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/...se515592d.jpeg

Going out for a night ride:
http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/...sd2294044.jpeg

What a difference a year makes! It's truly crazy to look at these photo's and see the transformation that took place in just over a year.

Before:
http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/...s06fcbcf2.jpeg

http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/...ps453dbf1a.jpg

After:
http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/...ps40b627ee.jpg

http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/...ps254411dc.jpg

Unfortunately, after having the boat in the water on saturday, it was time to taker her out on sunday!

I fell in love with the cig before driving her for the first time. That first summer was one of the best of my life and truly a plethora of memories from a ridiculous amount of spare parts and change in the bilge, missing antenna's, and broke vintage cup holders to numerous "do you smell something burning" and "I wonder what this does." Through all of that the Cig became much more than just a boat to me, much more than a member of the family in "Thunderboat Bay," as we affectionately like to call the dock. In many ways it became an extension of myself and my personality, and so at first I found dismantling the Cig to be pretty difficult for me. Fortunately I got over that quickly! Working on this project has been one of the greatest things I've done in my life, and is something that I am very proud of. I am very grateful for the support and help from my uncle (RedMatter) and cousin (RockyS18). We accomplished something truly extraordinary, and had the time of our lives doing it!

THE END!!!!

Kidding! Its not the end...its a boat, the work is never done!

There is nothing as gratifying as restoring a boat to your own tastes as you experienced. You know every inch of the boat when you do all the work. Very nice restoration and congratulations!