Cigarette "It's a whole different look"
5/25/2004 12:36:52 PM by Patrick Danner
In the storied history of Cigarette Racing Team, the 38-foot Top Gun has
been the top-selling model for the Opa-locka company. The
custom-powerboat maker, whose boats have been owned by the world's rich
and famous and used to chase drug smugglers, said the Top Gun boats
have accounted for 30 percent of production since 1987. More than 650
have been built. But customers wanted a Top Gun with better handling
and center steering for improved visibility. Recently, Cigarette
unveiled its latest creation at the Westin Diplomat Hotel's Nikki
Marina on the Intracoastal Waterway in Hollywood: the 39-foot Top Gun
Unlimited. "It's a whole different look," said Skip Braver, Cigarette's
owner.
Asked what he meant, he responded: "It's like trying to explain to you
the difference in design between a Volkswagen and a Lexus. It looks
completely different." The most obvious difference is the cost. But,
there are also more subtle differences. The dual Mercury engines, set
side by side on the older model, are staggered on the Unlimited for
improved stability and a bit more pep. The Unlimited tops out at 89
miles per hour -- a couple of miles faster than the older version. "The
reason the 39 is so special is it has a whole new deck and a whole new
hull," Braver said. "The other thing is you'll be able to put a head
(bathroom) in it, which is a big thing for the ladies." Among those
getting a first peak at the Unlimited was William P. Proctor, president
of Cigarette dealer Offshore Performance of Grasonville, Md.
"They're really very quiet, very smooth," Proctor said of the
Unlimited. Proctor planned to take an Unlimited back to his dealership,
already stocked with about a halfdozen Cigarette boats valued at $2.5
million -- a high amount for most dealers.
"My feeling is if you don't stock it, you won't sell it," he said. He
is one of seven Cigarette dealers in the U.S. Like the Unlimited,
Cigarette has had better stability with Braver at the helm. Prior to
Braver's arrival in May 2002, Cigarette went through a string of owners
-- leading to some shaky times that included a flirtation with
bankruptcy. Founder Don Aronow launched Cigarette in the late 1960s
after retiring as a millionaire from the construction business. Besides
Cigarette, Aronow manufactured Donzi, Formula and Magnum on what became
Thunder Boat Row in northeast Miami-Dade County. But, Aronow's 1987
murder left the company adrift. While the Cigarette name and image
remained an icon through the years, its business practices had ways of
rankling dealers. Proctor recalled Cigarette circumventing its dealer
network and selling directly to customers. Braver, a former car dealer,
and minority partner Neill Hernandez have made numerous changes during
their nearly two-and-half years of ownership.
The business relocated to a new $11 million, 200,000-square-foot
facility in Opa-locka this year. "We pretty much build everything
in-house, except for the motors," said Hernandez, Cigarette's executive
vice president. Welding and embroidery, previously subbed to outside
contractors, is now done in-house. Despite the bigger plant, new tools
and technology, Cigarette has kept production levels steady at about 85
boats a year. That helps maintain quality and makes the boats tough to
get, Braver said. "He doesn't want to mass produce them and turn them
into a cookie cutter," Proctor said. Work is under way on three new
Cigarette models and the company is looking to add some dealers in
Europe and the Middle East, Braver said.