C-Forum

The Phantom seems to be one of those boats that people either love or hate. If you have spent some time in a Phantom and were not a fan of it, what was it that you did not like?

Just curious…

I like the phantom so much that I'm going to go out and buy myself a *spare*

I paddled my new Phantom all Fall as my all-around boat. I'm really pleased with it, but I can still think of some things that I don't like about it:

It's not available in Armerlite! (I bought it for steepish, bony creeks, where the Royalex will have a limited lifespan.) It will be difficult to replace. There's no room for a picnic basket. (I'm used to being the cargo barge.) At 180lbs+, I feel like I'm near the upper end of the boat's weight range. I still like the way it handles, but I think I'd like it more if I weighed 155. Will Armerlite be lighter than Royalex?

There are some other things that I fully expected, but could be negatives to some:

It ain't fast. It doesn't carve very well. It doesn't track very well.

What I bought it for, it does spectacularly well:

Spin on a dime. Fit in tiny eddies and through narrow slots. Accelerate quickly. Stay pretty dry. Resurface predictably and quickly. Boof good. Remain stable.

I knew I'd like it for creekin'. The surprise was how much I enjoy paddling it in bigwater. Being a cork can be big fun! It IS a godawfull pig when it's full of water. Max floatation and a bilge pump are musts for me, at least until I start hitting these 'dry lines' I keep hearing about.

Hope this helps,
Kevin

I sold my Phantom when I wasn't working and had way too many boats. I'd never thought of it as a creeker, but I can see how it would make a good creek boat (except for being Royalex). I really liked the way you could finesse the boat, it really would respond to very subtle weight shifts. It is kind of slow, and a pig when full of water. My only real complaint aboutthe boat is that the hull on mine was way too soft. For some reason, the red hulls were really soft for a couple of years, I've never seen a soft yellow hull for what that's worth if you are looking for a "spare"

Pray for a thaw!

Martyn

Tippiest open boat I ever paddled. However, I was just trying to deside between a Spanish Fly. One thing that impressed me was the water the bow deflected straight on.

I found it very tippy, too. However, I'm used to and prefer flat bottomed, edgy boats. I wonder if it is also related to weight - I was about 210 when I tried it.

I know that weight is always a factors as the boats get smaller. I have also been told that the Phantom seems to benefit females since they do not carry their weight as high as males.

From what I have heard, these were never as popular as the Ocoee and Prophet. Nor did I find the Phantom as stable as the Spanish Fly/

Last month I was paddling with sbroam on the Saluda. His friend had a yellow Phantom. I paddled in it briefly and found it stable and responsive, if not particularly quick. Of course the water was easy and I'm light (<165lbs). My female friend Mac tried the boat, too. Admittedly, she is primarily a K1 paddler and has little time in open boats. She made a few strokes and stated "I don't this boat feels too ti.....". I assume that she was going to say "tippy", but the rest of the word was muffled by the sudden inversion of water and sky.

Last month I was paddling with sbroam on the Saluda. His friend had a yellow Phantom. I paddled in it briefly and found it stable and responsive, if not particularly quick. Of course the water was easy and I'm light (<165lbs). My female friend Mac tried the boat, too. Admittedly, she is primarily a K1 paddler and has little time in open boats. She made a few strokes and stated "I don't think this boat feels too ti.....". I assume that she was going to say "tippy", but the rest of the word was muffled by the sudden inversion of water and sky.

The dam thing pushes water it is like paddlin a bulldozer

has no chines, does not carve.

LETS BE HONEST IT`S A TUB !

A PRELUDE IS FAR BETTER