jtr2kwl

Hi All,

2 years ago I found myself buying a Cig 20 from Cape Coral that my cousin found on craigslist. From the beginning, we planned on doing a resto mod, and I wanted to share the progress so far with everyone on the board. I have to thank my cousin, RockyS18, and my uncle, RedMatter, for all the amazing help that they've given as this was a project that the 3 of us worked on together. There is a thread on the donzi forum that has more info, but I'll try to do my best to port things over to OSO to share with all. Feel free to take a look here:

http://www.donzi.net/forums/showthre...tte-20-Project


The boat in question is a 1979 Cig 20 that I bought sight unseen. Again, my cousin found the boat on craigslist, and knowing that I have always had a weak spot for the 20, he really pushed to make this thing happen. Next thing I know I've joined the Cigarette Racing Team, had the boat shipped, and BOOM! I get a phone call from the shipping company letting me know that its been impounded in New Jersey because the driver made an illegal U turn! That said, after an absolutely AWFUL experience with the shipping company, the boat finally arrived (a week late) in Lake George, NY. She had a few quirks and small issues, but for the most part it turned out to be an absolutely solid boat. I spent the summer of 2012 blasting around the lake with RedMatter and RockS18, and had an absolutely great time. The boat came with a 454 and TRS, both of which held up very, very well, and managed 56MPH on GPS.

RockyS18 and I kept our boats in the water as long as we could, only taking them out in mid October. After a short break, the real work began! I'll start with more info in my next post, but first....pics!!!

-Derek


Before:

jtr2kwl

As I mentioned earlier, the boat was purchased with the intent of doing a resto mod. Despite the intent for the update, the "Cigalightening," as we affectionately began to call it, was actually in very good running shape, I put no less than 30 hours on her during the week of 4th of July, and made the trip from DC to Lake George every weekend for the rest of the summer!

The 454/TRS had both been recently rebuilt and both ran very well. The Transom and Stringers appeared to be (and would later be confirmed to be) solid. A new interior had been installed about a year before I purchased it, and happened to be red! This was great for me - I love the red interior and planned on keeping it. Even though it was in good running shape, it had been a salt water boat previously, and the corrosion showed on much of the metal parts, so pretty much everything would have to be replaced.

Plans for the Resto:
- New Paint Job
- 496HO/Bravo 1X
- 280S K-Planes
- Hydraulic Steering (absolutely necessary)
- New Fuel Tank
- Intakes on the power dome removed (bamboo sleeves in the circular vents). A new grill will be made, still trying to figure out what to do. I'd like to design something unique and have it made from stainless.
- Move driver seat to the right side of the boat
- New Controls. Getting rid of the foot throttle
- New Dash, Gauges, and GPS
- New Audio system and Lighting
- Teak removed and replaced

Those were really the big things, but obviously we had a myriad of other things to do! As soon as we got the boat, RockyS18 immediately got to work designing a new paint scheme in photo shop. I can't thank him enough, many many times I would call him up in the middle of the night with an idea and ask him to put something together, and he'd make it happen. We went through probably 10-15 designs over the course of a couple months, and while we had several ideas that we really liked, I really struggled picking something that would be perfect. Then finally, it hit me an I felt like a complete idiot for not thinking of it before! The first 50 Marauder SS has probably my favorite paint scheme on any modern cig. I asked Rocky to make the design work on a 20 foot boat instead, albiet much more simply. When I saw his rendering, I knew that was the design. This is what he came up with:

jtr2kwl

Thought I'd post a few more pics prior to the tear down.

Cape Coral:




Arrival to Lake George:


Blasting around the Real LG:




Home for the summer:


Home for the winter, and the site of the project at an undisclosed location!

Allicat38

Want to sell it as is.
Dave

jtr2kwl

Haha, not in a million years! This thing has become much more than just a boat

Allicat38

I had one with the same setup you currently have. I miss it. Sorry I got rid of it. I could save you a lot of money and you could get a bigger boat. Can bring greeenbacks.

jtr2kwl

I completely empathize! I couldn't imagine letting this thing go, and at this point the money's been spent! Side note, I see you previously had a mystique...absolutely love that boat and would love to have one one day!

jtr2kwl

Allicat38

The mystiques are nice for the size and all have the newer type styling or I should say the early 2000s styling. I really liked it and for the price of them I think they are hard to beat. I sold my unexpectedly because the deal was good. That's the only reason I sold it. I believe you do have to know how to run them to keep them flat but its not that bad. At least the one I had. I would buy another again but not sure what road I want to take, but I know I am very interested in your boat as is. I would want it the way it is. I would not change steering to other side and I like the foot throttle. Steering is a must as I had it on mine. 72 mph was the best for mine in the late 90s when I had mine. Just my likeings. Great luck and a successful project.
Dave

Allicat38

Awe man no not yet. just kidding

Good luck