FAIRLINE PHANTOM 38
BUILT: 2001 PRICE: £129,995
LOA 38ft 4in (11.7m) Beam 12ft 8in (3.8m) Draught 3ft 3in (1.0m) Displacement 10.5 tonnes Fuel capacity 910 litres Engines Twin Volvo Penta TAMD 63P 370hp diesels
FOR SALE Network Yacht Brokers Conwy; www.networkyachtbrokers.com
In the late Nineties and early Noughties, circa 40ft flybridge boats were big business for Princess, Fairline and Sealine
– how times have changed. Fairline’s Phantom 38 went head to head with Princess’s 38, offering much the same layout, performance and facilities with one crucial difference: two en-suites where the Princess had just one.
INTERIOR
The interior of the Phantom 38 signs up fully to the
‘if it ain’t broke’ school of thinking with an entirely traditional layout. Master cabin forward with a central double bed, guest cabin to starboard burrowed deep under the helm, console above and a galley opposite.
Two heads are better than one, so the saying goes, and this boat proves it, with private facilities on offer for each cabin, the guest heads doubling up as a day toilet. The finish is particularly good. Maple was an option but most opted for the high-gloss cherry you see here.
EXTERIOR
As conventional as the interior, there are no surprises on the outside of the Fairline, just plenty of high-quality GRP mouldings and good chunky stainless steel work. The flybridge is particularly generous, easily accessed via a decent stairway, with three seats abreast at the helm, a semi-circle of seating further aft around a table and plenty of handholds.
PERFORMANCE
Twin shaft drive Volvo Penta TAMD 63P diesels are the motors of choice for most Phantom
38s, giving a top speed of almost 30 knots (in fact we cracked 30 knots on test when the model was first introduced).
SEAKEEPING
Bernard Olesinski was designing hulls for Princess and Fairline at the time (today it’s just Princess), with great success. Tunnelled props keep the shaft angle low while a deep-vee, hand-laid hull provides strength and seakeeping in equal measure.