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Old 11-19-2006 | 06:39 PM
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Default Wikipedia on Cigarette Boat

from Wikipedia:
Go-fast boat
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Contents [hide]
1 History
2 Construction
3 Use
4 Illegal use
5 External links



A "go-fast" is the preferred boat of many smugglers.The cigarette boat or go-fast boat is a high performance boat of a characteristic design. Originally designed for his offshore racing team by Donald Aronow, the fast, powerful boats became notorious as the drug smuggling boat of choice in many parts of the world in the 1990s and first years of the 21st century.


History
Don Aronow became involved in powerboat endurance racing in the late 1960s. His boat, a long, narrow 32-foot (10-meter) hull using twin MerCruiser engines, was called Cigarette, after a Prohibition era rum smuggling boat. When he retired from racing in the 1970s, Aronow formed the Cigarette Racing Team, and continued to build offshore endurance racing boats of similar design. The innovative Cigarette was successful enough that boats of that type, even by other makers, are still commonly called cigarette boats or just cigarettes.


Construction
A typical go-fast is built of fiberglass, with a deep "V" offshore racing hull from usually 30 to 50 feet (10 to 15 m) long and multiple powerful engines, often with more than 1000 combined horsepower. The boats can travel at speeds over 80 knots (150 km/h) in calm waters, over 50 knots (90 km/h) in choppy waters, and maintain 25 knots (47 km/h) in the average five to seven foot (1.5 to 2 m) Caribbean seas. They are heavy enough to cut through higher waves, although at a slower pace.


Use
In accordance with their pure racing heritage, the accommodations on these boats are minimal, and they are built to hold only a few passengers. While most do have some cabin under the foredeck, it is low and much smaller than a typical motor yacht of similar size. Apart from the racing market, most buyers of these boats purchase them for the mystique; the combination of the racing and smuggling connections, plus the immense power and high top speeds make these boats popular as ostentatious displays of wealth.

Illegal use
These boats are rarely detected by radar except on flat calm seas or at close range. The US Coast Guard finds them to be stealthy, fast, seaworthy, and very difficult to intercept using conventional craft. Because of this, Coast Guards are developing their own high-speed craft and also using helicopters. The helicopters are equipped with sniper rifles which can be used to disable the motors of the go-fast boat. The Coast Guard go-fast boat is an RHIB equipped with radar and more powerful engines. The RHIB is armed with several types of non-lethal weapons and M240 GPMG.


External links
Go-Fast boating website
Congressional testimony on technologies for detecting go-fast boats
Lexington Institute article on technologies for stopping go-fast boats
Cigarette Racing Team homepage
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Go-fast_boat"
Category: Boat types


When you click on go fast boating website it directs you to Speedwake.com?

Funny doesn't mention Fountains anywhere? Let me check under Cat Killer................
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Old 11-19-2006 | 07:25 PM
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Default Re: Wikipedia on Cigarette Boat

Urban dictionary.com

1. cigarette boat 17 up, 14 down

A type of speed boat originally designed for racing on the open ocean, 30-50 feet long and about 8 feet wide. Almost always equipped with at least 1000hp but often up to 2000hp, modern versions can go well over 100 mph. Drug runners made them famous in the 1970's and 80's but they are now popular as extremely expensive ($250,000+) show-off toys mainly for rich, otherwise blue collar people like construction contractors and business owners. The culture surrounding them strongly embraces decadent drinking, drugs, sex, and partying, and sometimes boating too. Most of them are used on lakes way too small and calm compared to their original purpose.
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Old 11-19-2006 | 07:36 PM
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"The culture surrounding them strongly embraces decadent drinking, drugs, sex, and partying, and sometimes boating too."



who?....us?
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Old 11-19-2006 | 10:45 PM
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Default Re: Wikipedia on Cigarette Boat

Originally Posted by dreamer



who?....us?
No US Ted, not you.
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