FAIRLINE PHANTOM 46
BUILT: 2004 PRICE: £199,950
LOA: 46ft 0in (14.1m) Beam: 14ft 2in (4.3m) Draught: 3ft 6in (1.1m) Displacement: 14.3 tonnes Fuel capacity: 1,591 litres Engines: Twin Volvo Penta TAMD75 480hp diesel
FOR SALE: Clipper Marine www.clippermarine.co.uk
In the Nineties and early Noughties, Fairline’s Phantom flybridge range slotted beneath its high-end Squadron motor yachts, being perhaps a little more practical and a little less glitzy. Slightly confusingly, the Phantom 46 overlapped the larger Squadron range which started at 43ft, and more recently Fairline has consolidated all flybridge models under the Squadron banner.
INTERIOR
Classic American cherry and cream leather greet you as you step inside. There are some neat details, like the handrail built into the headlining that helps you through the saloon in turbulent conditions, and split helm and navigator seats which allow either to be accessed without climbing past the other. The galley is on the main deck too, forward to port and one step down, leaving space on the lower deck for a three-cabin, two-heads layout that includes a forward ensuite master cabin and two guest cabins, one with bunk beds and the other with side-byside berths. And if that’s still not enough, the saloon converts to further sleeping and there’s a crew cabin beneath the cockpit seating!
EXTERIOR
Guardrails sweep well back, making accessing the 10-inch wide side decks on the Phantom 46 feel safe and secure, and there are an impressive five pairs of mooring cleats. In fact, moving around the boat generally is easy, with chunky teak floating ‘butcher’s block’ steps with handrails either side gaining access to the flybridge with its outside helm, dinette that converts to a sunpad and even grille, fridge and sink.
PERFORMANCE
This boat has a pair of Volvo Penta TAMD 75 shaft drive diesel engines rather than the earlier TAMD 74P of our original test boat, but the capacity and power are identical, so expect close to the 30 knots we achieved with a brand new and unloaded boat, and a mid 20-knot cruise.
SEAKEEPING
An Olesinski designed hull that extends beneath the bathing platform, tunnelled props to reduce shaft angle and straight shaft drive all point to the sort of solid, capable seakeeping we expect. But what really stood out on our test was just how responsive the boat was to helm inputs.