Phantom (sailboat)

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Phantom sailing at Burghfield Sailing Club

There are two designs of Phantom sailboats, one is a sloop design which is often raced, and the other is a lateen rig that was designed after the Sunfish model sailing dinghy.

The first Phantom mentioned is a high performance singlehander sailing dinghy designed by Paul Wright and Brian Taylor in 1971. It is a very popular class in the UK with a few scattered around Europe and South Africa.

The boat was designed to cater for the larger sailor and occupies a similar market space to the Finn. In fact there is a degree of healthy rivalry between the classes and many Phantom sailors also sail Finns and vice versa.

The competitive weight for racing is around the 100 kg mark

The Phantom class rules are very flexible in terms of construction materials. The outer hull is strictly one design with a good degree of latitude allowed for deck and cockpit design.

Originally, the sloop designed Phantoms were built from plywood with metal masts and Dacron sails. Modern Phantoms are generally built with epoxy GRP hulls rigged with carbon masts and Kevlar sails.

The sloop designed Phantom is 14 ft 6 inches (4.42 m) long yet only weighs 135 lbs (61 kg) with a rig of 105 sq ft (9.75 sqm).

The second Phantom mentioned is a lateen rigged sailing dinghy that is still in production under the name "Pointer-14" by the North American company J-Point Marine.

The lateen rig design that is almost identical to the Sunfish model sailboats is a well built sailing dinghy designed for one person. The boat weighs 120 lb (54 kg). and has a sail area of 85.4 sq ft (7.93 m²). with a luff of 12' 10", a foot of 13' 4 ", and a leech of 14'. There are many lateen rigged Phantoms still sailing and parts are still available.

[edit] External links

• Phantom Class Association
• Phantom Owners Group
• Yachts & Yachting Phantom Class Page