When you talk to Jose Rodriguez about his Phantom 30 OB, you know right away that Jose is a passionate performance boat enthusiast and knew exactly what he wanted when he built his custom Phantom. With a stunning paint job from Stephen Miles and twin Mercury Racing 300Rs, the wild looking Phantom absolutely flies.

Phantom Boats of Sarasota Florida has been building boats for over 35 years and is most known for their 30’ and 32’ V hull race boats in the Mod V class. Owned and operated by Will Smith, not be confused with the Oscar winning actor and grammy winning recording artist, the real Will Smith is an old school race boat builder that builds killer boats. Because of the interest in performance sport boats and the big outboards, Will has made a few single engine 30’ OB models. But Jose wanted big power and twins, so he opted for twin 300R.

The 30 Phantom typically weighs about 4,900 lbs fully rigged ready to race. The OB setup is different with no canopy and a full interior. Putting two big V8 outboards like the Mercury 300R off the transom means Jose wanted minimal setback, so he went with R&R manual brackets, with a total of 5.5” setback. Sometimes it is easier to run manual plates, they are lighter with no hydraulic lines or additional rigging. For props, Jose has found custom Dewald 15” diameter and 32’ pitch with 17 degree rake, run fastest. He gets 105 MPH with this setup.

Light and narrow with a 7’6” beam, there is no doubt the Phantom is a drivers boat with the twins. Jose says it absolutely rips and the acceleration is incredible. Of course, he wanted the new boat to look like the rocket that it is, so he had his friend Stephen Miles who is one of the most highly regarded boat painters, spray it in a stunning red with a nice pattern. With a nice red and black interior and 2 Simrad screens, this pleasure version of the Phantom is really well executed.

For quite a few boaters, this size is perfect, you can run in some rough water, bring 5 people, power it with a big single or twins, tow it easily. Many 28’ to 30” sport boats can be in the 90 to 105 MPH range, which is flying. I think we will continue to see really cool sport boats in this category with big singles or twins. Jose’s Phantom is a great example of why.

Thanks to Jose for telling me more about his boat. You can try and catch him in the Keys.

Phantom Boats

In the Lead With Stephen Miles: Speed on the Water