Let's move to Active Thunder....
#42
#44
I was rolling down the Potomac River in my 26' Sonic one day when a buddy was across the river just eating up the water in his 37' AT. THAT moment is when I knew I'd have a 37' AT one day. I loved my 37' AT and kept it for 13 seasons; and the new owners are still ecstatic with it.
Both the Sonic and AT are great rough water boats, but given size for size category in those two brands, I'd pick the AT each time.
The Sonic will always have more of a production feel since they were a production boat until the bottom fell out of the market. AT has always been a custom boat, where each boat started with a blank sheet a paper. You will see more custom inputs, touches, and themes on most of the Active Thunders vs. the Sonics.
I like 36/38/39/42 Cigarettes too, but the BUYER for an AT and a Cigarette are different. Often, one is looking for value and/or versatility, and the other is looking for a toy and/or a certain caliber for display. You can get the versatility of a full cabin, full of amenities in a Top Gun, but it will be an older one with a straight bottom.
Lots more info on this posted in the past, but the original owner of Sonic, Jay Ross was great friends with Pat Haughey, the original and current owner of Active Thunder. (Notice, I said ACTIVE Thunder. Pat bought "Thunder Boats" and molds from a guy named Bob in Illinois way back the the day.) Why did Pat buy Thunder Boats and create "Active Thunder"? Because Pat had a 31' Sonic at the time, and saw a 32' Thunder eating up Lake Michigan and had to have one. So he bought the company.
After Jay sold Sonic, he actually worked for Pat at Active for a while, but that partnership did not work out, and Jay moved on.Back to comparing the ATs to others:
I've seen 32' ATs outrun other 35-38 foot boats in the FPC Key West Poker Run in the snotty stuff not due to HP, but due to ride. The 32' AT is an amazing hull. And where does the 32' AT hull have trace roots back to? The 35' Cigarette Mistress.
And when it comes to the 37' AT, I'd take that boat over anything else in the market in the 37-39' range in full cabin stand up boats in rough water. You have to know HOW to set the boat up to get it to perform. You don't trim it to the moon, point and shoot (any boat). But it is far and away the best riding most predictable hull out there in that size range.
Last edited by Sydwayz; 03-27-2019 at 07:13 PM.
#46
Hahahaha drock....That was very informative and helpful sydwayz thanks you!! You do have me wondering however if I should hold out for a 37 instead of "settling" for the 32....no doubt the 32 will probably handle anything I will throw at it with ease but anyone who's been on Lake Michigan knows it can totally flip and be ROUGH in a matter of hours if not minutes...I don't ever want to be stranded somewhere like south haven, Chicago, wherever and not be able to go home because of the water which is what I have now in my heat....it sucks this thing doesn't ride better as it has been my dream boat since I was 16 years old but is what it is...would be great if all I ran was rivers and small lakes but I LOVE being out on the "big lake" and letting her eat heading to another port for supper or whatever....can't get enough of it!! Unless there's anything bigger than a 2 then I'm out hahaha
#50
Hahahaha drock....That was very informative and helpful sydwayz thanks you!! You do have me wondering however if I should hold out for a 37 instead of "settling" for the 32....no doubt the 32 will probably handle anything I will throw at it with ease but anyone who's been on Lake Michigan knows it can totally flip and be ROUGH in a matter of hours if not minutes...I don't ever want to be stranded somewhere like south haven, Chicago, wherever and not be able to go home because of the water which is what I have now in my heat....it sucks this thing doesn't ride better as it has been my dream boat since I was 16 years old but is what it is...would be great if all I ran was rivers and small lakes but I LOVE being out on the "big lake" and letting her eat heading to another port for supper or whatever....can't get enough of it!! Unless there's anything bigger than a 2 then I'm out hahaha





