Welcome to the "International" web site for the high performance Phantom racing dinghy.
What you sail when you're too big for a Laser!
Phantoms can be built to plans in any location and are readily available.
The Phantom is a high performance singlehander sailing dinghy designed by Paul Wright and Brian Taylor. Whether it was design genius or sheer serendipity the Phantom has proved to be the ultimate performance racing dinghy for heavyweights. Helms either side of 100 kgs (220 lbs) remain competitive around the race course. This can be seen in the gear guide from the 2002 National Championships which were attended by well over 50 boats. The 2003 National Championships were attended by 65 entrants. (2001 Nationals report - 2002 Nationals report - 2003 Nationals report - 2003 End of term report - 2004 End of term report).
The Phantom doesn't pretend to be a Finn, but the Phantom would be what a Finn sailor would want to sail if pleasure came into the equation (only kidding!). There are currently approaching 1500 registered Phantoms with the overwhelming majority in the UK, but with a significant number being built in South Africa. A Phantom has been built to plans in the US and was launched recently in all its glory on YouTube The Phantom would be an excellent boat for all countries where competitive sailing took place.
What do you sail when you become too big or heavy for your Laser? What about all you 505, FD and Flying Fifteen crews who would like to helm and remain competitive? Australia, New Zealand, Canada, USA, Europe you don't know what you are missing!
Phantom rules are very flexible in terms of construction materials whilst maintaining a strict one design ethos. Originally Phantoms were built from wood with metal masts and Dacron sails. Today epoxy GRP hulls with carbon masts and Kevlar sails are very much at the cutting edge, but a good wooden boat remains completely competitive. The Phantom is 14ft 6 inches long yet only weighs 120 lbs.
More details on the UK Class page here
Welcome to the homepage of the Phantom Owners Group (POG)
The POG is an email based discussion group using Yahoo Groups run by Simon Smith of Burghfield Sailing Club for the Phantom Class sailing dinghy established July 2000.
To join the POG simply send a blank email to:
If you already have a Yahoo ID you can view the message archive by going to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/phantomsailing/messages
