Credit to Kurt on Offshoreonly for the pics and info!!

"-Stopped by Lip Ship Cigarette on the way home from Key West. Got a look at the very last Gladiator to be built. This Lip Ship Edition was just off the hook, in a league of its own for sure. Pictures don't do justice, the paint is just amazing, the deck looks like brushed stainless steel. The attention to detail and the level of quality put into this ride was very impressive to say the least. I wish I was in the position to give it a home!
Great job boys!
Kurt"

 

Some in water shots by Kurt from OSO as well

 

Good one, DJ. That is one nice Glad. My buddy Kurt is the biggest Cig freak on the planet.

For you guys who aren't that into boats- one of the defining features of the Cig Gladiator is that it has no rubrail. It's my understanding that this is one of the main reasons for discontinuing the line- it adds so much expense to the build cost that Cig could no longer justify it.

Boats are generally built from two basic hull parts and the rubrail covers the seam where the topdeck joins the hull. Gotta be a fairly labor-intensive operation to get a satisfactory level of fit and finish over (roughly) 70 linear feet of fiberglass, and then to maintain that fit over time with the stresses and flexing that these boats are subjected to when used as intended.

(not a Gladiator- pic for instructional purposes only)

 

That is just amazing. I'm not a boat guy, but something like that can make a believer out of anyone.

Dumb question... Those boats are obviously built for one purpose, speed and performance on the water, not creature comfort. So then are these boats as "long" as they are for the sake of pushing it across the water efficiently? Where, the length of the boat makes it go across the water much more efficiently than say, the 19 foot Cobalt I had once upon a time?

 

Really, these are built for comfort at speed. Pretty luxurious up close. Longer length allows the hull to span greater wave lengths and surface chop -- with comfort at speed. Not so much about efficiency. Stepped bottoms (which your Cobalt did not have) are about efficiency.

 

the simple way of explaining it is Longer Hull = can span larger gaps between (theoretically) larger waves, and more weight to force the boat through the wave
It's a little more complicated, and of course there is a point of diminishing returns.




As for the info abou the uniqueness of the Gladiator, thats impressive and I had no idea that was what set it apart from the rest.

 

I am in LOVE with that Gladiator!!!!! What an amazing example.

I want I want!

 

Generally called capping or capped hulls. Capping is usually roughly a 10k option and does take require a significant amount of time and labor on the builders part.

That is a great looking Gladiator. Personally I wouldn't buy a 35'+ boat with no cabin.

 

jay can you email me a high res of that please ?

 

DJ- brother, I would if I could... that one isn't mine- snagged it off OSO last year sometime. Sorry.