Looking for 40 Cigarette 40
 

Charlie,

The shirts and Searace arrived today, all I can say is that the book
completely exceeded my expectations and with all of the data and statistics
at the end of the book...simply mind blowing!!!.

I knew that The Cigarette was a special boat with a lot of history but after reading certain sections, it makes what became of the boat even more depressing. Does anybody know what became of Peter Dean's 40' and 35' cigs Slingshot??? it would be
interesting to find out.

Just got the above e-mail from one of our HORBA members in Australia. This guy helped us a lot in tracking down the trail of the original Cigarette that Don sold to the Carr brothers.

Does anyone know of any leads we could give him for the 40 foot Cigarette that the Dean's raced??

This is a pic of the boat that I'm after, any help would be appreciated!!!
Cheers
NL

001 slingshot
 

Not sure if this helps or not but it`s a little history from my memory regarding the boat pictured. I was with Tom Gentry when we raced in the Mercury Trophy race in Melbourne Australia ( Port Saint Philip Bay ). I believe 1978, we won the race in some Horrific conditions, wind was blowing 30 to 40 mph seas in the bay were 12 to 15` and it was freezing cold. We had been ribbed by the Aussie`s that we as Yanks had no clue about what real Offshore racing was, after the race it was a different story, took us almost 4 hours to do the 80 mile short course, I still have night mares and anecdotes to this race. Barry McMillan was running the boat pictured, however it was a pop of the Cig. 40 and stretched to 44` and built in Australia. I believe from what I heard the original 40` was damaged and used for the plug for new 44`. In the race we led the first lap, on the second lap the 44` passed us in the roughest part of the course, Tom and I watched in amazement as it jumped probably 50` out of the water, when it landed it broke in half, we circled to make sure everyone was OK and when the rescue boat arrived we continued on for the win. it was so rough we were afraid to come off plane, as we would have been swamped by the sea. The pieces washed up on the beach and were salvaged. I still have the magazine article, it made the front page of the newspaper next day. If I figure out how to do scanner and re photo I will try and post Pix.

7XCHAMP

All i can say is DAMMMM!!!!!!

I believe Roger Penske raced a 40' Cigarette, is it the same hull?

Hi there Richie,
Thanks for that, its good to find out a bit more about the Aus offshore scene from the 70s/80s theres not really a lot of info to be found at this end!.
If you have any other info as to the fate of any of the old boats that raced over here or any that may still be around I would love to hear of them.

Cheers
NL

Peter Dean still has the Slingshot at his prop shop "PROPCO" in Monroe Ga.

So you think we were kidding when we said we actually raced offshore when the waves were big huh kids??????

Thanks Richie....everyone needed that !!

Just had a bit more of a read through searace and it appears that there was three slingshots', two 40' one of which was stretched to 44' as Richie has spoke about, and one 35'?
NL

Roger Penske and Mark Donuhue raced a 40` Cig togeteher, I think Jay Signore also went as navigator, Jay is the guy who has the IROC franchise and builds all the cars, great guy. The 40` cig was same design as Peter Dean boat, and when you talk about Peter Dean, you really are talking about an unsung hero/legend,He certainly deserves his do!!!!!!!!! There is a picture of Rogers boat in the Crouse Searace book, I think the name was Sunoco DX number 66 ???? Really beautiful boat all done in blue with yellow and gold trim. That would be a real find if that one could be found. I think it may have been one of the first 40`s as Don A. was very close with Roger and Mark. I think the boat only ran a few races, I don`t remember if it even ran a full season, Charlie should have some info. I raced against them in Key West, Don`t remember exact year, I know they put the fear into a lot of us.
7XCHAMP

Roger raced with Mark and did not win any races...however in the summer of '76 he teamed up with Doc Magoon and ran in the Benihana out of NJ.

They won, but Magoon said afterward, that he had to keep slapping Penske's hands off the throttles as he wanted to run wide open all the time.

Magoon knew from experience that you only need to run as fast as will keep everyone else behind you. Be easy on the engines and they will be there when you need them....it worked.

Roger was on a, million things to do per day. schedule even back then...he didn't stay for the awards dinner, but took his Lear Jet and flew off for another engagement somewhere.

Mark built Don A an IROC Camaro for the street.....it was really cool...so naturally he wanted all his friends to have one too. Magoon had a red one, I had a silver one just like Don's ...but instead of the # 1 and the Cigarette logo, I had my racing number 6 and the banana logo on the spoiler. Photo below.

Richie remembers that back then, the offshore racers and the auto racers were very friendly and we moved back and forth in each other's venue all the time.

Emerson Fittipaldi was good friends with Don too. Jochen Mass and I became friends after Marlboro took me to Europe to help them come up with an offshore racing plan. He loves boats more than cars I think.

Here is Jochen and me at Sebring the year he won the 12 hours co-driving with Bobby Rahal and another photo at Daytona.

Here is Roger's boat...the 40 Cigarette

Thanks Charlie and Richie for all these great anecdoctes.
It isn't surprising that Roger Penske 40' Cigarette was in Sunoco colours in 1973. That same year he was entering a Porsche 917/30 in sunoco livery for Mark who litterally ran around the competition on his way to the Can Am title. Was the race boat sponsorship part of the deal or else I do not know.

Charlie's assessement of the lack of mechanical sympathy demonstrated by race car drivers when sampling Offshore Racing was also be demonstrated by Didier Pironi. Though undeniably fast he registered avoidable DNF and maybe paid the ultimate price because of his driving style.

Back to the 40' Cigarette.
I have read that the 40' Cigarette was hastily produced to counter the threat of the 40' Gara hulls who made a (slight) dent in the domination of the all dominant 36' in 73.
Can anyone confirm or deny this, please?

Phil.

Boy do I remember the Camaro`s from Donahue, I wanted one so bad but just was not in that league at that time, I remember Gene Lanham let me drive Magoon`s car one day, turbo charged etc. almost lost it on NE 17th ave., Gene and I still laugh about it. One of my best memories was when I was in South America for the start of the UIM circuit, which also corresponded with the Formula one season opener, Bonomi had invited Jacky Ickyx few months prior to go for a ride in the Offshore 36` Cig. to see if he would like it, we blasted out through Govt. cut and almost lost it, came off one tripped and stuffed, with violent right turn heading for the Jetty`s. Saved it, but Jacky said no thanks no more. While in Buenas Aires Jacky called me and invited me to the Formula one race, He was driving for Colin Chapman John Players special, Ronnie Peterson was his Teamate, Andretti and Donahue were there as well as Fittapaldi etc. The pass I received allowed me total access any where on the track. After practice and before the race the teams went back to the Hotel for lunch, I rode with Ronnie Peterson, Jacky I and Colin Chapman, it was about a 30 min ride, all they wanted to talk about was the race boats, Colin was trying to figure out how to put four Cosworth V-8`s in the boat and stay under the UIM cu. in. displacement rule, I wish I had kept the napkins with all the ideas. Like you say the car guys always want to talk about the boats and seems we always wanted to talk about the cars, I always wished I had been in car racing, Earnhart Sr. and I use to compare notes, both being 7XCHAMPS he was a real boat lover, as are majority of the Nextel guys today, it`s exciting to see the Eliminator boat running on lake Loyd, maybe one year we could have a historical boat run there. Lots of stories Charlie, I am thankful for the forums and to be able to recall the good old days. It still amazes me how much airtime we had during the rough races, for you young guys, that`s the boat out of the water flying, not TV. All the best, see you in Miami, I`ll be the one with the nice HORBA white shirt on, Thanks for the thoughts. 7XCHAMP

Phil: The Gara was built by Paul Haggerty, who was the ex-VP of Cigarette under Don, Not quite sure what happened wheather he quit or was fired, I do know he didn`t like Don afterwards. He found a partner in Robert Vesco, major crime figure at the time, and plenty of money to throw away, and wanted his son to race, but not in a Cigarette, ala Gara born. The boats were never that fast or that good, the First one Sattullo raced was the plug made from wood and I think it sunk in the first race????? Boat had 22 degree bottom, big bulky looking thing. I guess to answer your question why did Don build the 40` which was a stretched 36` 9` 6" beam etc. was first he could sell it for more money, and second I think Kiekhaefer and Magoon were instrumental in request as Kiek. bought one and Magoon bought another for the Miami NY race. I never really liked them, as far as I was concerned the 36` was a better boat all the way around. The big change that came was the 35` narrow beam, to me that was the best boat he ever made, it was like the formula one car against stock cars of the time. Next was the stretch 35` narrow beam to the 39` Billy Martin/Cigarette Halter, great running boat for it`s time, had advantage in real rough water, otherwise 35` was still the ticket. Problem every time Don Stretched a boat, they bacame ugly with all the humps, bumps, and various angle`s it took to make them. I still believe that it was the great teams of the day who actually made the boats work and be successful, also at the time there really was no alternative other than maybe trying a Maritime, old 32` Bertram etc. Kind of like when Skater cameon the scene, the top teams campaigned them and won, not much competition until Cougar with the Aluminum boats, I just realized I probably have the boats in wrong order, My point is, it was generally the teams and throttlemen who dictated what equip. had potential and what didn`t. A great team can make a bad boat good, average speed wins. 7XCHAMP

Here are a couple more of Don's Camaro.....the only thing he didn't like were the brakes....they put racing brakes on and you really had to heat them up before they were any good...he just wanted to get in and go. Everything else was IROC though, headers, mini-lite wheels, cold airduct for the carb, posi rear ends...they were a joy at high speed when the spoilers all worked.

Yeah Richie, I think we could have done well with cars too.
I did the outlaw race, the Cannonball ....still hold 2 records. 1. Fastest crossing of the USA with a diesel powered car 36 hours from Connecticut to Redondo Beach, Calif. and 2. Largest court fine ever paid in the state of Ohio...$900.

Which one Ryan?
NL

I believe he has the one in the photo at the begining of this post. I know him a littl bit through a very good friend of mine.
http://www.propcopropellers.com/

Thanks for the explanation Richie. I know I am repeating myself but thisthe reason why this forum is so great. You get the info straight from people who were there at the time. I just love it.
One more question, if I can.
You had the unique distinction of winning titles with different hulls. You have already mentioned that the 35' narrow beam was your favorite from Cigarette (and maybe overall). How did the 38' Bertram you throttled with Wally Franz in 75 compare to it?

Thanks
Phil.

Phil: to be honest I hated the Bertrams, I was fortunate with Wally winning three in a row then leading in Sweden and blowing an engine 5 miles from the finish to get second. My real test with the Bertram is when I took over Benihana from Smitty and built and raced the number 5 boat. Pure Kevlar the hull and deck weighed 2,900 pounds, was super light for the time. When I rigged it we were against the clock to get it finished for first race in Calif. plus Rocky was opening up his new restaurant and wanted team and boat there for festivities. My partner at the time Bob Beich was riding in the boat during the trip to Calif. to finish the wiring correctly, and make race ready, we drove straight through to get there. We did some test runs in Miami before we left, late afternoon into the evening with Kiekhaefer standing over us etc. Lots of pressure, plus he wanted us to run all sorts of rake variations on the props. First runs were horrible, the boat was out of control and slow 82 to 85 MPH and chine walking like crazy in the bay. we tested and tested nothing seemed to work only to make things worse, as darkness closed in, I took the best set of props for the day and made one last ditch bonzai run. I laid on the drive trim button out and the boat just liked popped over and ran straight as a rail bow up etc. 92 mph. I had been running the boat like a 35` Cig. and it didn`t like it, had its own way as they say she was a *****. I ran two races with Rocky. In Calif. we lead the entire race, just before the finish grenaded an engine so bad the oil in the bilge caught on fire, and had to use the extinguisher system which was dry chemical, huge mess. Next race St. Pete Fla, again leading the race, running swells 4` to 5` foot on the north end of the course, We came off a 5 footer and before the drives left the water rocky cranked the wheel hard to the right, so when we launched we launched sideways skipped over on set of waves then landed sideways going over 80 into a trough. I was ejected the boat rolled twice, Rocky and Bob B. stayed in. I broke six ribs, punctured a lung, broke my elbow, and nose, Great story about getting to the hospital, same race Ippolitto crashed in with the Scarab. Billy Martin won. I was laying in the E.R. when they wheeled Joey in, Boy did it hurt to laugh, I raced with Joey the year before. Do I like Bertrams NAH!!!!
Best boats were still the Cigs. 36` and 35` Actually best boat I ever ran was the first canopied V-Bottom superboat Apache Heritage 47` triple 1,000`s won 1992 and 1993 world championships in Key West, plus won overall by almost 4 minutes in 1993, now those are some great stories, I`ll tell some day. Tommorrow doing film interview for Don Aronow documentary, should be fun, all for now 7XCHAMP

Hi All,

I think Mr. Powers has given more value to this forum with his posts then we could properly thank him for. Then I realized all these great stories and only 80 posts to date, Wow.

I am forever grateful...

Ditto above Richie. Keep the stories coming.

In about 78/80 Barry Mcmillan,also owned a 40ft approx pleasure craft that I think was a ex racer,it was kept at the St Kilda marina,got a feeling it was a ex Dean boat.the Guy to talk to would be the spanner they called "Irish/Kevin.

Hey Rob,
Would it be Kev McCarroll by any chance???
NL

Didn't Bob Magoon have a 40' Cigarette pleasure cruiser as well?

You may be thinking of a 40` Cig. old style 9` 6" beam that Gene Lanham used to take care of , yellow hull sided boat was called the Cat Cay Taxi, was owned by a senator, or congressman, name is on tip of tongue but can`t remember, Gene used to take building supplies etc. to Cat Cay all the time for the guy, I think it may have been a staggerred engine boat. Just remembered the name Senator Keeting. Great boat, never raced, I think it may have had a cabin. Magoons only personal 40` was one he raced from Miami to NY. Not sure of time era, but for some reason he used Stan Erwin engines from Custom Engine service here in Miami, Not sure why Kiekhaefer was not involved. That boat was sold to the Doxford`s and raced in Europe as Limit-up. Magoon also built a big Magnum type boat for transatlantic run as well, Sponsored by Penske and Citicorp, I think he also did an outboard Cig. for Trans Atlantic, quads I believe, and I believe it was a 40` as well. Charlie can probably fill in some details as well. 7XCHAMP

thats him.Wonder what happened to the couple of 28ft magnums that raced down under,last one I remember was the late Brian Fishers Camstar powered by 1x Chev 454/500.must ring his son and find out.

Thanks for getting back to me on this. I remember the long distance boats but I could have sworn he had a big cig converted for family cruising too. Guess I'm confusing it with someone else's boat.

Thanks again for all of the great info you have provided here!

old sunoco dx 40' cigarette
 

I currently have the boat in my front yard ,and have had it for 26 years...it has quad 2.4 EFI mercs on it and is still in excellent condition ...It is all yellow with a black bottom currently..I only have a few pics that John Crouse sent me of it..If anyone has some pics I would be really interested in them...561 793 3520 Thanks, Buz

Buz how about some pics of the boat as it is now?? Would be interesting to see it.

I have just been reading through this thread.

Peter Dean had four Slingshots. He started with a 40 ft version in 1974, built a 35 ft boat in 1975, then built a light weight 39 ft version (based on the 40 ft hull ) which he took to the Worlds in 1977 and finally built a Dean Special ( a 44 ft hull based on a stretched 35').

The 40 ft was converted to pleasure cruiser in the late 1970s and was owned by Barry McMillan for a while. The 35 ft hull was also converted and, according to a recent thread, unfortunately was lost in a fire last year.

The 39 ft hull was bought by Brian Stevens and it was this hull that was mentioned by 7xChamp earlier in this thread, as breaking in half in a rough race on Port Phillip Bay in 1978 while driven by Barry McMillan.

Peter Dean ran the 44 ft hull in 1980 and 1981 before moving to the USA. He took the boat with him ( it ran at least a few races as Tosti Asti (?)) and the boat is still at his prop shop in Georgia.

Is that the Bayside Disposal 962?

Yes it is.....Jochen was loaned out by the Porsche factory to privateers....Bruce Levin being one of them.

Hello Buz,

Any chance you've recieved or have current pics you can post?
Lots of great history in your boat that many would truly enjoy seeing.

Thank you in advance,

Gary

If you are interested in Peter deans boat contact me

Hey Charllie--please don't laugh--I wish I had that hair now--this pic jumped out of my computer--Doc's IROC by Mark Donahue--

http://i63.tinypic.com/2ujlaiv.jpg

Great Stories- Thanks for bringing back up!

Great read....cool to know the Cigarette was the king way back when.....and still is! :poopoo:

I know this is an old thread, but......

Here's another more recent thread that says 'Slingshot' may very well be for sale. I loved that boat (and many others!) as a kid. Grew up watching them race on Port Phillip Bay.

http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/c...%2A%2A%2A.html

RR

Here's the boat Richie is referring too.

http://i1344.photobucket.com/albums/...psyvwvntlm.jpg
http://i1344.photobucket.com/albums/...psx6ulp9eb.jpg