"cigarette" or "go-fast" boats

[Guest myonlyvice]

When did the term "go-fast" become current? I noticed in the '06 movie the boats were called this but never a "cigarette". Are these terms synonymous?

[Kavinsky]

its just another term for them and according to wikipedia they were called cigarette boats not because of there shape but actually because they were originally used to smuggle in cigaretts in from canada.Not sure when though but that's probably going on right now because of a recient law change that prevents people from importing them in duty free.and before then rum runners, but there true name I think is probably offshore powerboats

[Stinger390X]

The early boats of the 1980's were dubbed "go-fast" as yes they were incredibly fast, some as fast as 100mph (that is very fast on water!) Mine used to do 100mph but It is now de-tuned because of the price of gasoline. In the early years there was a guy named Don Aronow who started to build the 22 degree deadrise hulls of that era. These particular hull designs were very fast in the water and he had many companies such as Fomula, Donzi and of course Cigarette. These companies are all in existance today producing boats that are capable of excess of 130mph and more!The term "Cigarette" was actually the name of Don's first race boat back in the 60's which became quite famous in racing circles, and then his last company that produced offshore racing boats. The Cigarettes today are still built, and the top of the line ones are called "Top Gun" which are decked out with blown big blocks and detailed colour co-ordinated instrument clusters and wild paint scemes. These are VERY expensive boats and yes they are fast too!Everyone calls my boat a Cigarette and I constantly correct them. My boat has a 9 foot beam and Cig's only have an 8 foot beam. Some say this makes them faster (matter of opinion I suppose?) but I like the lateral stability of a wide beam.Sunsations, Skaters, Fountains and numerous other boats today are all built on similar principals and platforms (if it aint broke, don't fix it) A 22 degree deadrise means the hulls nose is 22 degrees off of the horizon which carves the water as it moves forward. The sponsons and the chines are unique to this particular style of "Offshore Race Boats" as they handle the water well and carve through it like a knife.The new generation of racing is done with multi-hull boats now. They include designs such as the Chris Cat and Nortec to name a few. These are "Catamarans" or twin hulled boats. The Nortec for example comes with three engines and can do as much as 170mph (or so one man has claimed?) These can scream up to around 150mph without effort and hold stable in the water. They are also dubbed "Go-Fast" boats as well...I hope I answered your question? Feel free to ask anything else regarding boats and I will be happy to answer them.

[Stinger390X]

its just another term for them and according to wikipedia they were called cigarette boats not because of there shape but actually because they were originally used to smuggle in cigaretts in from canada.Not sure when though but that's probably going on right now because of a recient law change that prevents people from importing them in duty free.and before then rum runners' date=' but there true name I think is probably offshore powerboats[/quote'] Speaking of smuggling...Yes that was the cigarette smuggling in the mid eighties in the St.Lawrence river when the government imposed a federal tax on smokes. It was rampant there as well as here in Niagara where I live. (I could tell you stories but won't bore you)In the thirties during prohabition however, Chris Crafts were used as these boats were incredibly fast and had lots of room in them for smuggling booze. These were all wooden boats with big straight six and sometimes straight eight cylinder engines. Some even had 12 cylinder airplane engines in them after modifications.These boats were all wood construction and quite heavy, but in its day they could hit 60-70 mph and there were no other boats around that could do that in the 1930's. That particular hull design carried on and is still being used in 2011 designs by Hacker Craft and others that build the classic wooden boats of yesteryear.They are a thing of beauty...........................

[Kavinsky]

What is the advantage of those two hulled catamaran boats vs the design of the chris craft (is it primarily a stability at high speed issue?) and have any modern single hull boats similar to the chris craft ever matched the top speed of those catamarans and how reliable is your chris craft?and just to let you know the reason why I'm asking is because really not in the know about boats but I do love the look of the chris craft (and I prefer the chris craft to the scarab in MV) and other boats like it but not really catamarans

[Stinger390X]

The "CAT's" being a twin hulled boat seem to rise out of the water a bit more quickly and have more lateral stability especially in rough water. It's like having a pair of skis instead of a single board.Top speed as I said are very good as they are more stable at the higher speeds however the "Fountain" built by Reggie Fountain, still holds the speed record for a single hull and I think it was 178mph or something like that? Let me tell you even 60mph over water is considered fast, so this is insane speeds to be doing on water.Chris Craft hasn't made a large sport boat since 1991 so that era is over and done with. The last large boat was the Fittipaldi 42 footer. The big makers today are still Formula, Sunsation, Donzi and others, but Chris Craft makes smaller bow riders and sport boats of outstanding quality (and at a dear price too!)The Catamarans have an intersting Cuddy design and seem to be popular with the rich and famous. I was in a Nortec last summer and it had a 9 foot headroom (unheard of a few years ago) and a full size fridge and a king size bed. Lots of creature comforts if you have 3.2 milllion to throw away! Since these boats are wider they have room for comfort as well as power, as some have two or even three engines for a driving force. Unfortunately when you get into my boat you need to duck and walk in but when you sit on the couch or the chairs it's very comfortable. Deep "V" hulls have low headroom as the Cats have stand up capabilities. They are also 42-55 feet in length as well so they are very large boats. with a ten to twelve or fourteen foot bean (wide)My friend with the Nortec says it takes three hours to prep the boat to launch and to tow. He shows up the boat is on a trailer and it is tilted on a thrirty degree angle so it can go down the road (too wide for any highways) When he wants to launch the trailer is tilted flat and all the fluids need to be put in te engines again such as oil, power steering fluid etc etc etc. After three hours prep you can launch and go have fun.After your day at the Poker Run you pull out the boat and drain all the fluid again from three engines, tilt the boat on the hydraulic trailer and drive down the road again to the next meet.Too much work for me (in my opinion) as I just drive my boat onto my trailer, attach the safety chain and away I go to the next marina to launch again. It's a no-brainer.

[Kavinsky]

So basically the only real disadvantage to having a single hull boat like the chris craft is the low height of the cabin, but once you sit down that point becomes moot. but have you had any real mechanical trouble with your boat or are they pretty bulletproof?also I remember reading something about boat racing where when you hit any sort of air your supposed to reduce the power to the engine or you risk damaging it, do you know if this is true?

[Stinger390X]

So basically the only real disadvantage to having a single hull boat like the chris craft is the low height of the cabin' date=' but once you sit down that point becomes moot. but have you had any real mechanical trouble with your boat or are they pretty bulletproof?also I remember reading something about boat racing where when you hit any sort of air your supposed to reduce the power to the engine or you risk damaging it, do you know if this is true?[/quote'] I have had almost no trouble with my boat except for some small things like a worn water pump impellor. It only cost 20 bucks and takes three minutes to change. My boat has been surprizingly good to me and I have enjoyed it very much over the last few years. I don't beat on my boat purposely so in other words I try to stay out of rough seas and stay in port, although I could tackle them very easily but why beat on the boat and my body as well?To answer your question regarding out of water throttling, YES...there is usually a specific person who workes the throttles. That is why you usually see three people on board of professional race boats. One is the driver, one is the throttle man and the last is the navigator. Each mans job is crutial and they must work as a team.When a boat launches out of the water there is no pressure on the props anymore, so the engine will wind up unabstructed by the force pushing against the water, and the engines can over-rev and blow up. You could spin a bearing or pop the blower or any number of other mechanical breakdowns regarding excessive RPM. Most big block engines are meant to run around the mid 5000's and if you jump out of the water it might spin up to 8-9000rpm for a moment and cause a lot of damage.Engines that are past "Square", meaning four inch bore and four inch stroke, can not rev to very high RPM's no matter hwo well they are built as they are meant for lower end torque. That is why a lot of boats use 420's 502 and other large bore engines for the amount of torque they produce. A small block ( four inch bore and stroke) can rev much higher but doesn't produce as much torque or horsepower at low rpm where boats use this method.I had a race car years ago witha small block Ford and I used to shift at 7200rpm but it was built to take that kind of punishment.Cars and boat engines are also very different as cars have intermittent torque as you accelerate, let off, shift and re-accelerate etc. In a boat the forward torque is almost constant so the bottom ends of the boat engines need to be built tough with fine tolerances and good steel cranks. (No cheap Mexican casts) sorry if the truth hurts but no offence to the Mexican people in general. I have lived the experience.

[Kavinsky]

So what your saying is that the reason why boats such as the chris craft or the welcraft go for bigger motors like that dual mercury 450 V8 set up that's in there is because of the overal torque and power they put out over the range and that it's better equiped to handle the overal water resistance at high speed than the smaller torquier motors similar to that one you had in your old ford.

[alleycat]

its just another term for them and according to wikipedia they were called cigarette boats not because of there shape but actually because they were originally used to smuggle in cigaretts in from canada.Not sure when though but that's probably going on right now because of a recient law change that prevents people from importing them in duty free.and before then rum runners' date=' but there true name I think is probably offshore powerboats[/quote']Cigarettes are still expensive in canada with our taxes and they still get smuggled here but now on the indian reserves where the cheap smokes are.I do smoke so I know that and so does everybody else.Did not know about the cigarette boats and Canada.

[Stinger390X]

So what your saying is that the reason why boats such as the chris craft or the welcraft go for bigger motors like that dual mercury 450 V8 set up that's in there is because of the overal torque and power they put out over the range and that it's better equiped to handle the overal water resistance at high speed than the smaller torquier motors similar to that one you had in your old ford.

Big blocks have much more torque and it is very noticable. I had a Stinger 260 with twin small blocks (see my signature "my toys") It's the little grey boat in the picture. The other guys in the Marina used to joke about me having only two speeds...Idle and full throttle! This was true as I idled out of the marina and then as soon as I hit open water I punched it. That little boat would screem at about 57mph but my big boat has much more power and you can't just hit the throttles. You have to ease them up as you can actually feel the power as it pushes you back into the seat when you accelerate. There is no real comparrison between small blocks and big blocks. Two completely different experiences.