Creativity And Teamwork Abound With One-Of-A-Kind Cigarette 42X Drogon

It’s safe to say there’s been a countless amount of unique Cigarette Racing Team models built over the Opa-locka, Fla., company’s 50-plus years in business, but there has never been one quite like Drogon, a new Cigarette 42X that was created with an insane amount of detail and was a complete team project from top to bottom.

Drogon, a new Cigarette Racing Team 42X powered by twin Mercury Racing 1350/1100 engines, is one of the most unique Cigarette models to leave the factory in many years. All running photos courtesy Clint Jenkins/Jenks Imaging

“I know the customer is very happy with the boat, and so are we—it was a really fun project to do for a client who has owned several Cigarettes and is very particular,” said Skip Braver, the owner and chief executive officer of the legendary performance boat company. “He had a vision for the boat and thanks to a joint effort, we were able to execute that for him. We had to do a few things different because of how the boat is being used—it’s part of a fleet of boats he keeps on his shadow yacht—but nothing we weren’t capable of handling.”

*The detail in the cockpit of the Cigarette 42X is out of this world.*

Besides the intended throwback look to one of the most recognizable designs in Cigarette history—the 90 MPH 38 Top Gun—the orange and white 42-foot custom V-bottom, which is powered by Mercury Racing 1350/1100 engines and M8 drives, is unlike any other machine to come out of the Cigarette facility.

Braver said working with Custom Marine Sales’ Peter Pavkovich, Visual Imagination’s Mark Morris and Cutting Edge Interiors’ Jamie Borg on this particular boat was a pleasure.

“The detail on the 42X is beautiful; I think it shows some of our best work to date,” Braver explained. “I think it also highlights the best of Mark’s work, the best of Jamie’s work and the abilities of Peter to manage a project like this. They are super creative and talented people, and they worked well with the team here at Cigarette to complete a high-quality product.”

The 2021 42X was delivered last month to its owner, who commissioned the build through Custom Marine Sales in Fort Lauderdale. Not only is Drogon one of the brightest Cigarettes ever completed, it’s one of the company’s most meticulous and intricate boats.

Morris and the team at Visual Imagination, which also painted the Skater Powerboats 388 catamaran and Nor-Tech 56-foot luxury performance center console for the shadow yacht HODOR, was tapped to design and apply the graphics on the new 42-footer.

Check out the slideshow above for several more impressive running images of Drogon courtesy of Clint Jenkins.

Morris, who was honored to be part of the build, has painted all five of the 59 Tirranna models Cigarette has delivered since introducing the model a year ago and many other boats for Braver and company over the past several years.

“This was the third boat we’ve painted for the owner—they’ve all had a Polynesian tribal art theme to them—but this was probably the most time-consuming one because of all of the added details,” Morris said. “I was excited to have the opportunity to bring a whole new modernized look to the famous 90 MPH design. We took the classic Cigarette design and personalized it for the owner. Tribal texturing and the two-tone orange and white graphic design took the boat to a different level.

“All of the tribal design flows through the entire boat,” he continued. “We also took all of the billet parts—from the grab handles, throttles, shifters, swim platform, footrests, fender holders, engine hatch hinges and even the covers for the display screens—and painted them to look like they were anodized. We did that custom effect on more than 100 parts for the boat.”

Morris called the process “fairly complex.”

“Every part went through a seven-step process to achieve the anodized look,” he explained. “I am not going to reveal any secrets, but with a request like this from the owner and the persistence of Peter at Custom Marine Sales, we started testing and were able to achieve the perfect look.

“I couldn’t be happier with the way this whole project came together,” he added. “With the team that was put in place, I believe this is the coolest and most detailed 42X on the planet.”

Pavkovich, who prides himself on his relationships and servicing of the most discerning of clients, said that Custom Marine Sales specializes in customization of high-performance boats and super yacht tenders, as well as a wide variety of custom projects from beach stereos to beer pong tables.

“It’s always a pleasure to do a build with Skip and Bud (Lorow) at Cigarette,” Pavkovich said. “They make the build process easy. I often think we are wearing them out with all of our requests, but they accommodate every detail and strive to deliver the best product possible. A previous collaboration for this same owner was the famed 46-foot Cigarette Helios that was featured on the cover of Cigarette’s Smokin’ magazine.”

Take a closer look at the interior of the Cigarette 42X in the slideshow above. Photos courtesy Cigarette Racing Team

According to Pavkovich, the owner of Drogon was involved in the styling decisions from start to finish.

Pavkovich said the owner always loved the 90 MPH Cigarette paint scheme so he wanted to modernize the design. He bounced ideas off Clint Jenkins—the world-renowned photographer and artist who was born in Australia and now resides in Las Vegas—to come up with the design concept, which is similar to the style of his Nor-Tech and Skater.

“Clint was super involved in the vision for Drogon, just as he was with the themes of the other performance boats we’ve done together,” Pavkovich said. “Between his artistic ability and the owner’s eye for style, I think they pulled it off. At first, it was a challenge to make everything orange and have it look good together.

“And we’re not just talking about the elaborate paint and interior,” he added. “Everything is orange from the nickel-plated carbon-fiber dash panels from Innotech Products to the custom SeaDek that has the same tone-on-tone engraved pattern just like the intricate custom carpet from Bock Rugworks that covers it.”

Borg, who works by himself at his shop in Punta Gorda, Fla., said he had fun working on the project with Braver, Lorow and everyone else at Cigarette.

“My side of things were creative and detailed,” said Borg, who hand-stitches all of his remarkable interiors. “I supplied a lot of options early in the project with different color combinations and elaborate stitch patterns. In the end, I was able to take Mark’s graphics and integrate them into the seat backs, seat bottom cushions, side panels and the cabin. This was definitely a cool project; all of the boats I’ve done for the owner have been really cool. With this Cigarette, I like the bold look and the quality is incredible.”

Overall, the 42X is practically incomparable. As one Instagram follower pointed out on a recent Custom Marine Sales post, the boat “doesn’t even need to be in the water—it’s a showroom piece.”

Creativity And Teamwork Abound With One-Of-A-Kind Cigarette 42X Drogon

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