Fairline Phantom 48 Review and Secondhand Value Guide

Fairline Phantom 48: the straight-lined Phantom

The Fairline Phantom 48 arrived in the second half of the 2000s as the newest member of Fairline's family flybridge line, slotted below the larger, galley-up Phantom 50. YachtBuyer lists production from 2006 to 2010, which makes it one of the last Phantoms before the builder folded all its flybridges into the Squadron range. It is a three-cabin, two-head, shaft-drive boat with a single engine package, twin 575 hp Volvo Penta D9 diesels.

Power & Motoryacht's tester, who had cut his teeth on a Phantom 43 in 2000, summed up what changed in seven years. The curves and radiuses of the earlier Phantoms gave way to straight lines and right angles in the settees and cabinetry, which frees floor space and makes the saloon feel bigger. The joinery, he thought, was as good as ever and perhaps better.

How Fairline built it

The test report gives a rare look at the structure. Fairline started with a hand-laid solid fiberglass bottom, then added a grid of full-length foam-cored stringers and transverse frames spaced about every two and a half feet. The hull and deck were joined chemically and mechanically, then glassed over with a 3 inch overlap of cloth and resin, a structure Fairline called a monocoque and the tester called rock solid.

The bottom is a Bernard Olesinski modified-V with 18 degrees of deadrise at the transom, the designer's standard formula for Fairlines and Princesses of the period. Running gear on the test boat was ZF gearboxes at 1.75 to 1 turning 24 by 34 inch four-blade manganese bronze propellers, with SeaStar power-assisted steering and Clements fin-shaped rudders.

On test off South Florida

Power & Motoryacht ran the boat on flat summer water off South Florida. With the D9s turning 2,520 rpm, within 20 rpm of their rating, the boat reached 36.5 mph, which is 31.7 knots, burning 60 gallons per hour for 0.61 miles per gallon. With 440 gallons of fuel, that works out to about 241 statute miles, roughly 209 nautical miles, at full throttle. The magazine did not publish a cruise-speed fuel curve, so plan on more range at a mid-20s cruise but do not expect long legs.

Handling impressed the tester. The 48 turned within about two boat lengths at wide-open throttle with modest effort, heeled slightly to moderately in hard turns, lost only about 100 rpm and recovered quickly. Sound peaked at 77 dBA at the upper helm, quiet for a twin-diesel flybridge at full power.

• Top speed 31.7 knots (36.5 mph) at 2,520 rpm
• 60 gph at wide open throttle, 0.61 mpg
• Fuel 440 US gal, water 132 US gal
• Max 77 dBA at the upper helm

Why the galley stayed down

In 2007 many builders were moving galleys up onto the main deck. Fairline kept the Phantom 48's galley down, a few steps forward of the saloon, and the tester thought it worked: the space is bathed in light from the overhanging windshield and long side windows, yet within conversational range of the saloon and helm. The Phantom 50 offered the galley-up alternative for buyers who wanted it.

The saloon has an L-shaped settee to port, U-shaped seating with a hi-lo table to starboard, a big stainless and glass sliding door to the cockpit and a raked windshield that gives near 360-degree visibility from the lower helm. Joinery was high-gloss American cherry, with white oak offered and popular on European boats. YachtBuyer lists three cabins sleeping up to seven guests, with two VacuFlush heads in the standard specification.

The flybridge and its one blind spot

The open flybridge, reached by teak steps from the cockpit, is the boat's social space, with a large seating area on the overhang aft of the helm. That seating has a cost: backing into a slip, the tester could not see the starboard aft quarter, and only by craning toward the port steps could he see the port corner of the teak swim platform. A cockpit camera or a crew member calling distances is essential.

Standard equipment for the US market was generous: an 8 hp Side Power bow thruster, a 7 kW Onan generator, Lenco trim tabs, a four-burner electric cooktop, microwave, teak cockpit sole and platform, and even Fairline-crested tableware. Options on the test boat ran to twin Raymarine E120 plotters, autopilots, a flybridge ice maker and grill, a washer-dryer and leather upholstery.

Phantom 48 or Phantom 50?

The two boats overlapped on the market and appeal to different owners. The Phantom 50, built from 2000 to 2008, is longer and heavier with a galley-up main deck and bigger D12 engines; the 48 is newer, more linear in its styling and keeps the galley below. If you want the more modern interior and a later build year, the 48 is the pick. If you entertain on the main deck and want the extra length, look at the 50.

Both are shaft-drive Olesinski hulls with Volvo power, so engine support is straightforward. The 48's single engine package also simplifies the search: every boat should have D9-575s, and any listing claiming otherwise deserves a closer look.

Finding and valuing a Phantom 48

Phantom 48s are scarce. YachtBuyer's market data recorded five listings worldwide in three years, mainly in the UK, with boats spending about 315 days on the market on average. That rarity cuts both ways: there is little competition between sellers, but you may wait to find the right boat. We estimate most will trade between about $330,000 and $520,000, depending on hours, upgrades and whether the boat was built to US specification.

Plan on $30,000 to $55,000 a year to run one, including a 50 foot slip, insurance, haul-out, and service on two D9s and the generator. D9s are well supported by Volvo Penta dealers in the US, which helps a boat whose builder has changed ownership several times since it was built.