Emelia Hartford's Craigslist speedboat needs more than fresh batteries

A championship racing boat becomes a troubleshooting project before Hartford will consider taking it home.

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EmeliaHartford Story of November 11, 2026Trari Newsroom

Why this story? 978,084 views so far, and here is what is inside it.

I Found a REAL 2,000HP Championship Cigarette Boat on Craigslist and made an offer...

Video summary

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4:44Hartford explains the Cigarette's racing history and identifies it as the 2001 F2 championship boat.
7:18Tom shows the cabin, separate driver and throttleman controls, and pre-flight checklist.
11:00Tom explains fuel consumption and the costs of operating the boat.
15:30The crew replaces old batteries, then troubleshoots a failed relay and ignition coil.
22:14The asking-price discussion begins, followed by laptop checks of both engines.
26:40Hartford gives her buying decision and explains what she wants to check next.

Emelia Hartford brings fresh batteries to a boat yard, hoping to revive her friend Tom's offshore racing boat. Then she sees how much boat she's dealing with. "Oh god, what did I just get myself into? This boat is massive!" she says.

Her Craigslist find is billed as a 2,000-horsepower Cigarette, and Hartford identifies it as the boat that won the 2001 F2 World Championship. But this isn't a triumphant purchase reveal. It's an inspection, with cramped compartments, reluctant engines and a practical question underneath: does she actually want to own this thing?

Tom walks her through the separate driver and throttleman controls, the cabin and the pre-flight checklist. His estimate of roughly ten dollars a minute in fuel makes the running costs rather less abstract. Viewers pick up that thread, discussing storage, occasional use and the old boat-owner joke about buying and selling being the happiest days.

Getting the engines running takes more than swapping batteries. The crew traces a fuel-pressure problem to a dead relay, spots an exhaust leak and replaces a faulty ignition coil. A laptop diagnostic check later shows no recorded fault codes on either engine, though that doesn't erase the repairs they've just identified.

The video includes a sponsored app segment and battery support from Optima. Its workshop work is familiar territory for a channel whose recent projects include a bargain Lamborghini and a wrecked Audi rebuilt in a day. The separate throttle controls and marine diagnostics are a change of scenery.

Despite the title's promise of an offer, the price discussion ends without a completed purchase. Hartford wants a test on the water before deciding.

Published on Trari

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What viewers say

Best two days of a boat owner's life, the day he buys it and the day he sells it
@Stevo1269See it on YouTube
My Dad worked at the company that made that trailer over 20yrs. MYCO Trailers. They built most of the trailers for the offshore racing teams for decades. Popeyes, Mercruiser Special, Jesse James, Don Johnson, the list goes on and on. I used to work there in the summers and after high school. As old at that trailer appears, I could have done the wiring on that thing. haha Loved going to the races in South Florida, with the trailing helicopters, etc. Fun memories.
@storageaddictSee it on YouTube
it's a lot of money for something you might use 3 or 4 times a year, parking can becomes an issue.
@LeRoy-1962See it on YouTube

3 more comments

You might remember when you bought the river boat, I commented you would get addicted to speed on the water and end up in an offshore racing boat!!! Looks like you’re one step closer now 😂 that giggle when he mentions going fast cracks me up!
@deanlaurenson5342See it on YouTube
As a dockmaster of a large marina in Newport Beach I recommend looking at what its gonna cost to store something that size a month lol
@jrm88382See it on YouTube
I'm excited for part 2, " the trial " 😅
@stevendodd6900See it on YouTube

Public comments from the video's page on YouTube