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Review of Phantom 42


Phantom 42
Phantom 42.

Basic specs.

sail specifications
The Phantom 42 is a large sailboat designed by the maritime architect bureau Elvstrøm & Kjærulff in the early eighties.

Looking for a new boat? Find a Phantom 42 or similar boat for sale

Rig

The Phantom 42 is equipped with a masthead rig. The advantage of a masthead rig is its simplicity and the fact that a given sail area - compared with a fractional rig - can be carried lower and thus with less heeling moment.


Keel

Fin keel

The Phantom 42 is equipped with a fin keel. A boat with a fin keel is more manoeuvrable but has less directional stability than a similar boat with a full keel.

The keel is made of iron. Many people prefer lead keel in favour of iron. The main argument is that lead is much heavier than iron and a lead keel can therefore be made smaller which again result in less wet surface, i.e. less drag. In fact iron is quite heavy, just 30% less heavy than lead, so the advantage of a lead keel is often overstated. As the surface of a fin type keel is just a fraction of the total wet surface, the difference between an iron keel and a lead keel can in reality be ignored for cruising yachts.

The boat can only enter major marinas as the draft is about 2.05 - 2.15 meter (6.73 - 7.03 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.


Sailing characteristics

This section covers widely used rules of thumb to describe the sailing characteristics. Please note that even though the calculations are correct, the interpretation of the results might not be valid for extreme boats.

Stability and Safety

What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?

The capsize screening value for Phantom 42 is 1.65, indicating that this boat could - if evaluated by this formula alone - be accepted to participate in ocean races.


Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed

What is Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed?

The theoretical maximal speed of a displacement boat of this length is 7.7 knots. The term "Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed" is widely used even though a boat can sail faster. The term shall be interpreted as above the theoretical speed a great additional power is necessary for a small gain in speed.


Immersion rate

The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level. The immersion rate for Phantom 42 is about 237 kg/cm, alternatively 1328 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 237 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 1328 lbs cargo on the boat it will sink 1 inch.


Sailing statistics

This section is statistical comparison with similar boats of the same category. The basis of the following statistical computations is our unique database with more than 26,000 different boat types and 350,000 data points.

Motion Comfort Ratio

What is Motion Comfort Ratio (MCR)?

The Motion Comfort Ratio for Phantom 42 is 37.0.

Low High 82% 0 50 100
Comparing this ratio with similar sailboats show that it is more comfortable than 82% of all similar sailboat designs. This is a comfort value significantly above average.


L/B (Length Beam Ratio)

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for Phantom 42 is 3.62.

Wide Slim 82% 0 50 100
Compared with other similar sailboats it is slimmer than 82% of all other designs. It seems that the designer has chosen a significantly more speedy hull design.


Ballast Ratio

What is a Ballast Ratio?

The ballast ratio for Phantom 42 is 44%.

Low High 79% 0 50 100
This ballast ratio shows a righting moment that is higher than 79% of all similar sailboat designs. A righting moment (ability to resist heeling) significantly above average.


D/L (Displacement Length Ratio)

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

The DL-ratio for Phantom 42 is 284 which categorizes this boat among 'medium weight cruisers'.

Heavy Light 31% 0 50 100
31% of all similar sailboat designs are categorized as heavier. A heavy displacement combined with smaller water plane area has lower acceleration and is more comfortable.


SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)

What is SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)?

The SA/D for Phantom 42 with ISO 8666 reference sail is 16.8, with a 135% genua the SA/D is 20.1.

Low High 38% 0 50 100
The SA/D ratio indicates that it is faster than 38% of all similar sailboat designs in light wind.


Over- / underrigged

Low High 27% 0 50 100
The Phantom 42 has more rig than 27% of all similar sailboats, which indicates that the boat is slightly underrigged.


RSP (Relative Speed Performance)

What is Relative Speed Performance?

The Relative Speed Performance for Phantom 42 is 50

Slow Fast 50% 0 50 100
The relative speed performance is 50 which means that a it is faster than 50% of all similar sailboat designs.


Maintenance

Bottom Paint

When buying anti-fouling bottom paint, it's nice to know how much to buy. The surface of the wet bottom is about 42m2 (452 ft2).
Based on this, your favourite maritime shop can tell you the quantity you need.

Note: If you use a paint roller you will need more paint than if you use a paintbrush.


Rig

Dimensions of sail for masthead rig.

mainsail specifications genoa specifications spinnaker specifications

Are your sails worn out? You might find your next sail here: Sails for Sale



If you need to renew parts of your running rig and is not quite sure of the dimensions, you may find the estimates computed below useful.



Guiding dimensions of running rig
UsageLengthDiameter
Mainsail halyard 38.2 m(125.2 feet)12 mm(1/2 inch)
Jib/genoa halyard38.2 m(125.2 feet)12 mm(1/2 inch)
Spinnaker halyard38.2 m(125.2 feet)12 mm(1/2 inch)
Jib sheet 12.8 m(42.1 feet)14 mm(0.55 inch)
Genoa sheet12.8 m(42.1 feet)14 mm(0.55 inch)
Mainsheet 32.1 m(105.2 feet)14 mm(0.55 inch)
Spinnaker sheet28.2 m(92.6 feet)14 mm(0.55 inch)
Cunningham4.8 m(15.6 feet)12 mm(1/2 inch)
Kickingstrap9.5 m(31.2 feet)12 mm(1/2 inch)
Clew-outhaul9.5 m(31.2 feet)12 mm(1/2 inch)

Boat owner's ideas

This section is reserved boat owner's modifications, improvements, etc. Here you might find (or contribute with) inspiration for your boat.

Do you have changes/improvements you would like to share? Upload a photo and describe what you have done.



Finally

We are always looking for new photos. If you can contribute with photos for Phantom 42 it would be a great help.

If you have any comments to the review, improvement suggestions, or the like, feel free to contact us. Criticism helps us to improve.



References