Cigarette 38 Top Gun (11.3 m), the Classic Boat that has become an immortal cult favorite

Racing and chasing on the water at insane speeds, brutal offshore races and lots of cinema. The Cigarette 80s and 90s have undoubtedly become icons, cult boats featured in any movie set in Florida, “wrapped” in the most unlikely colors and strong in those spectacular liveries so dear to the “nineties.”

Cigarette 38′ Top Gun

Among them, immortal, emerges the Cigarette 38′ Top Gun, a 60-knot missile that has dominated as much the offshore scene, as much the market and the eternal American summer, in its recreational version. An endless cult and, more importantly, still in production today.

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Exterior

Glance, on this genre, commands. The lines are iconic, sleek like few others, and always feature eye-catching, ever-changing liveries. The bow seems never-ending, occupying more than half the length of the hull, with a tendency to descend back toward the water as it approaches the foredeck. The stern, for its part, is instead a square, angular body, and accommodates a single full-beam sundeck at its end, reserving, toward the middle of the boat, for a recessed, well-protected cockpit.

This is where the helm station finds its place, protected by a thick, very low, opaque windshield, a continuation of the deck, which barely rises to deflect some of the apparent wind from the cockpit itself. Two or three wrap-around seats serve the wheelhouse here, again on the starboard side, while the center provides access to the interior. Depending on the models, behind the command post we find a full-beam sofa or several racing-style seats, a configuration that changes with each restyling, thus offering different layouts from the 1980s to the present.

The roll bar, sometimes present, is not actually an original solution on the 38′, but is often recovered as it is present on the 41′, although it weighs down the line not a little.

Cigarette 38′ Top Gun – Interior

Shifting the focus to interior spaces, it is necessary to start with an assumption, already implied in the brand name: Cigarette Racing. Cigarettes were born as racing hulls, missiles designed to race offshore, flying over water and optimizing every bit of the hull for performance. Interiors, consequently, are a feature that takes hold at a later stage of design. They are part of a redesign specifically designed for the recreational market. But whatever the case, the spirit is that of a hull with which to enjoy one’s joyrides, rather than for cruising. But the shipyard does not deny anyone the opportunity to enjoy it as if it were a weekender, offering sleeping space on board for two people.

The interiors are then carved out and fitted to the inside of the hull counter-mold, structures that are critical to the rigidity of the complex. Here is carved out, subject to custom modification, a single, open-plan room with a forward double berth and seating along the broadside. The design changes in the various models, moving from detail rather than the use of sofas or racing seating, but the layout does not vary much, with the forward triangle designed for sleeping and the broadside devoted to guest seating, creating a lounge capable of flying over the water safely.

Data Sheet (1989)

Discover Classic Boats from previous articles

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• Here is one of the last articles in the series:

Hatteras 42 LRC (12.8 m), il trawler anni ’80 per la grande crociera