Gone Fishin: Cigarette Racing's 39 Top Fish center-console is a real catch.

By Jason Johnson

When legendary performance boater Don Aronow introduced Cigarette four decades ago, his V-bottoms were known for their offshore performance and quality. That hasn't changed throughout the years, though under owner Skip Braver's leadership the company has put great effort toward the appearance and finish of its boats.

The new 39-foot center-console delivered to our Performance Trials in Sarasota, Fla., had the classic styling of a modern Cigarette. Based off the company's popular Top Gun series, the 39 Top Fish should have broad appeal to performance boaters looking to move into a center-console.

Whether or not Aronow had an appreciation for fish boats, he would have enjoyed the performance and styling of the 39 Top Fish.

PERFORMANCE

Cigarette has built its lofty reputation on offshore performance and the 39 Top Fish only adds to it. Bob Teague, Powerboat's lead test driver, compared driving the boat, which was equipped with triple Mercury Verado 275 outboards, to an inboard V-bottom.

"This is a real comfortable boat," Teague said. "It's the first outboard-powered, large fish boat I've driven that actually acts like an inboard."

Test driver John Tomlinson also praised the boat's handling, noting it ran through large swells in the Gulf of Mexico with ease. Tomlinson, who resides in Miami, has driven his share of center-console boats and said the Top Fish is one of the fastest he's encountered. On radar, the boat reached 66.3 mph at 6,300 rpm during runs on Sarasota Bay.

The twin-step V-bottom was quick to get on plane. With 25"-pitch lab-finished Mercury Bravo One propellers on the outside engines and a lab-finished 30"-pitch Bravo on the center engine, the 39 Top Fish was on plane in 4 seconds with the tabs down. And since the cabin (and its weight) was situated in the bow, we never lost sight of the horizon.

Acceleration was better than average for a 39-foot boat with just 825 horsepower. It took 7.1 seconds to run from 30 to 50 mph and needed 11.3 seconds to get from 40 to 60 mph. From a standing start, the boat reached 44 mph in 10 seconds and 59 mph in 20 seconds.

Offshore performance in the 2-footers was stellar. The boat's wide, 10-foot beam improved stability as the 11,800-pound V-bottom crushed swells without beating up on our Test Team.

WORKMANSHIP

The most distinctive part of the new center-console was the T-top arch. Like nothing we've ever seen, the assembly had billet support arms—two that attached to the helm and ran back along the fiberglass top, and a single arm that was fastened to the center of the helm seat and the back of the T-top.

Our staff was split on the industrial-looking billet supports. Either way, the piece was finely crafted and it did the job with nary a rattle. And if it's not your style, Cigarette has three other arch options available.

In the workmanship department, Cigarette cut no corners on the 39 Top Fish. The deck was covered in nonskid and everything, except for the T-top, was CNC tooled.

The paint job had a classic look to it. With a dark blue fade from the neatly installed stainless-steel rubrail down, the builder painted the Cigarette logo near the transom, and red and white stripes along the hull.

An electric windlass with a stainless anchor was installed on the bow. At the other end, the retractable ladder mounted on the starboard side caught our eye. Recessed in the transom, the aluminum ladder from Garelick featured folding plastic steps that opened and closed when pulled in and out.

Other hardware on the 39 Top Fish included grab rails from the helm to the bow, two oversized cleats at the transom and one on the bow, and four fender cleats mounted on top of the gunwales between the rod holders.

INTERIOR

While it was designed as a fishing boat, the 39-footer was plush like most of the Top Guns Cigarette turns out of its Miami-area plant. The large cuddy cabin in the bow featured a generator that supplied power to an air conditioner, which cooled the cabin and head compartment in front of the helm. Optional electronics included a 20-inch LCD TV and an iPod-ready Kenwood receiver that transmitted to 10 JL Audio speakers and two subwoofers. All the speakers featured Cigarette billet grilles.

The coolest driver amenity was the new touch-screen Northstar 8000i system in the center of the helm. The 15-inch display handled radar, chart plotting, instrument display and had a fishfinder. You could even watch DVDs or check out the underwater camera.

Below the Northstar 8000i were a pair of Mercury SmartCraft SystemView monitors and a tilt steering wheel. Mercury Digital throttles and shifters were mounted to the right of the wheel and blue accessory panels were installed on each side of the SystemView monitors. In-floor stowage compartments were plentiful, including a large refrigerated well in front of the starboard-side transom walk-through. The gunwales were well padded and the electric rear bench seats folded down for complete walk-around access when fishing.

OVERALL

Cigarette Racing should make quite a splash in the high-end center-console market with the 39 Top Fish. The center-console delivered top-notch fit and finish, and undeniable performance with triple Mercury outboards.

Braver may be expanding the company's model lineup, but he's staying true to the company's performance heritage.

Click to enlarge.