Cigarette 41’ 1040 Stern Drive: Game Changer
Designed around the benefits of inboard power, Cigarette’s latest luxury performance center-console makes a compelling case for its own design.
December 6, 2014
Near the end of a long day of interviews last spring for a feature that would appear in the June/July issue of Speed On The Water, Skip Braver, the chief executive officer of Cigarette Racing Team in Opa-Locka, Fla., pulled out several renderings from behind his massive wooden desk. He placed them on the desk and asked me what I thought.
Offshore or in protected water, the 41’ Stern Drive 1040 delivers a comfortable and stable ride.
I looked them over and responded, “I think you’re building a stern-drive center-console. I can’t wait to see it. When it’s going to be finished?”
Braver laughed and shook his head. “It already is. We’re building the second one now.”
Of course, I asked if I could see it before I left. “No,” he said. “I’d like to wait until we can have you drive it, and we’ll do that just before we’re ready to release it. Should be sometime July. Or maybe August. Or September. I’m not sure just yet.”
By mid-September, Braver was sure—or at least sure enough to invite me back to South Florida for a test ride in his company’s latest creation on an intermittently rainy afternoon. On board with me that day were Braver, Cigarette’s longtime “everything man” Bud Lorow, and another guest.
At first, we thought the law enforcement officials who approached us on the launch ramp at Haul Over Landing were going to give us a hard time for one thing or another. Instead, they ran their hands along the hull sides of the 41-foot, stepped-hull beauty and gawked. They knew they were seeing something different, but they just couldn’t put their fingers what it was.
Going with stern-drive power enabled Cigarette to create the 41-footer with a sunpad and a swim platform—and walk-through on both sides of each.
And even the large “1040 Stern Drive” graphics on the center-console's hull sides didn’t tip them off.
In a few minutes, Lorow had us out of the bay, into the Atlantic Ocean, and running at 45 to 50 mph. The jumbled, white-capped 1- to 3-footers were zero match for the boat, which delivered a smooth ride while taking the seas from all angles. The twin Mercury Racing 520 engines produce a solid growl, definitely louder than the outboard engines typically found on most performance center-consoles (including three other models from Cigarette), but by no means distracting or annoying.
What impressed me most was what I didn’t hear. No rattles. No creaks. No clangs or bangs. As with its other offerings, Cigarette did a fantastic job with the 41’ Stern Drive 1040’s hardtop, which features a steel skeleton housed in a sturdy yet stylish structure.
Another thing I didn’t hear—or even really feel—was the onrushing wind. For its latest offering, the builder has created the most effective and flawlessly clear windshield I’ve ever had the pleasure to sit behind in a center-console.
There are wide-open spaces and plenty of seats in the open bow ahead of the console.
We spent about 20 minutes tooling around in the ocean, but when the rain came we ran for the bay. Once there, Lorow slid out from behind the helm station and the 41’ Stern Drive 1040 was all mine. (OK, its massive JL Audio system wasn’t mine. Thanks to its BlueTooth technology compatability, Braver took control of the tunes with his iPhone and tried to blast us out of the boat.)
I have nothing against outboard engines, much less outboard-powered center-consoles. For any number of reasons, they make sense in most recreational and fishing-specific applications, and in terms of reliability and fuel efficiency the best of today’s outboards are superb. And yet, they simply handle differently than stern drives, which feel more planted and solid in the water. That feeling of connection between hull and water becomes even more solid when you’re talking about a pair of Mercury Bravo Three Drives, each with two counter-rotating four-blade propellers.
With those propulsion packages putting the combined 1,040 hp to the water, the 41’ Stern Drive 1040 felt more solidly connected than any luxury performance center-console I’d ever driven. To be fair, the majority of performance boats I’ve driven have been equipped with stern drive engines rather than their outboard cousins, so they’re what I know and feel most comfortable with as a driver. Bias duly noted.
Twin Mercury Racing 520 engines with Bravo Three drives power the boat.
While the engines had more punch left in them, I didn’t run the 41’ Stern Drive 1040 much above 60 mph—where once again the windshield proved its worth—but at all speeds its tracking was perfect. I never take both hands off the steering wheel when I’m driving a boat, because frankly it’s just a dumb move. But I could have. And when it came to turning, the 41-footer carved in the refined manner I’ve come to expect from a Cigarette. Without question, a novice would have no trouble piloting this beauty. Also without question, an experienced boat owner would appreciate its polished handling manners.
"We knew the boat had to be easy to drive, but we also knew it had to be fun to drive," said Braver. "Not only did we achieve that with the new 41' Stern Drive 1040, we set a completely new standard in drivability."
Along the same lines of easy operation, the boat’s operational features include a Mercury Marine Axius joystick control system for docking. With Axius, anyone and everyone can look like a hero at the docks.
The Axius system also works in tandem with Mercury's Skyhook automatic positioning system, which can hold the boat in its GPS-fixed position when it's not underway. A pair of 15- and 12-inch Garmin GPS readouts are standard at the helm station. Inside the console ahead of the helm, Cigarette installed a completely functional and attractive cabin that included a seating and berth area, a head compartment, and a galley with wood-grain-finished cabinetry and Corian countertops.
Goodies at the helm station include dual Garmin GPS units and Mercury Marine’s advanced Axius and SkyHook systems.
Nice stuff, for sure, but when it comes to passenger amenities the 41’ Stern Drive 1040 is all about what’s on the outside. From its generous open-bow sun lounge and benches to its giant sunpad and walk-through swim platform, the 41-footer, with its 11-foot beam, was designed to please its guests. Since most of their time will be spent in the boat’s wide-open spaces, the company’s designers and builders spent serious time and effort on getting them right.
Off the water and back in the Cigarette Racing Team offices, Braver explained the bigger thinking behind the boat: He has seen a decline in new customers getting into the market for most high-performance sportboat and luxury center-consoles. It’s an issue that has shown no signs of going away, much less improving. A forward thinker when it comes to marketing, as witnessed by Cigarette’s partnership with Mercedes-AMG, Braver is betting that the 41’ Stern Drive 1040 will bring an entirely new group of buyers, one that may know nothing about boating but plenty about the finer things.
"We created the 41' Stern Drive 1040 to change the game in a big way and bring new blood into the marketplace," he said. "Yes, it falls into the 'luxury performance center-console segment' of the market, but this new model is an entirely new and innovative concept. We knew the boat had to be easy to drive, but we also knew it had to be fun to drive. Not only did we achieve that with the new 41' Stern Drive 1040; we set a completely new standard in drivability.
"We knew that we to had to focus just as much, and maybe even a little more, on everyone in the boat who isn't driving, and on how it functions as a platform for everything from family adventures to social functions," he continued. "We believe that the 41' Stern Drive 1040 will 'open'—a word you'll find often on the new website—an entirely new world of boating. We believe this one is a game-changer."
Yeah, that’s a big statement. But as someone who’s spent a little time on a Cigarette 41’ Stern Drive 1040, I wouldn’t bet against it.
