Elan 340
Elan · Rob Humphreys · 2006
Updated
The Elan 340 is a 9.99 m displacement racing yacht designed by Rob Humphreys and built by Elan, first launched in 2006. It races in Class C. Across the measured fleet it goes better than its own numbers promise, ahead of 66% of the designs it races against. It is at its best in light air and struggles to hold that once it blows.
Goes better than its own measurements promise, and does it better than 66% of the boats it races against.
54th of 159 in its class.
This design has been found in real race results — 110 starts across 41 events — not only in measurement files.
Length
9.99 m
32′ 9″
Beam
3.47 m
Draft
2.05 m
Displacement
5.2 t
Sail area
64 m²
On the podium
Where a Elan 340 finishes when she goes racing.
On the podium
18%
of 110 starts by 15 boats
Wins
5%
Read from 110 starts by 15 boats between 2018 and 2026, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a Elan 340 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
66. Yil Donanma Kupasi2026
Round Aeolian Race 2026 - Campionato Italiano Offshore ORC2026- Eolian Cup - Trofeo Franco Costa2026
- 151 Miglia - Trofeo Cetilar2026
- Campionato Nazionale d'Area - Isole Sicilia e Sardegna2026
Raced one we are missing?
Report a regattaRound the buoys, or offshore
A short windward-leeward and a night at sea ask different things of a boat. Here is how this one does in each.
Round the buoys
13%
of these races end on the podium
Offshore & coastal
28%
of these races end on the podium
Better the longer it gets. Boats that settle into a groove and hold it gain ground once the course stops turning.
Who she races against
The designs a Elan 340 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Also met, too few times for a figure:
First 44.7 (7 meetings), Corsa 915 (7 meetings), Elan 40 (6 meetings), Dufour 44 (6 meetings)
Some of the boats it races against
How the Elan 340 has fared against each of them, boat against boat on corrected time. Ordered by how often the two meet, not by who wins.
Speed at every angle
The shape of this design's speed, drawn from the measured fleet. Pick a wind and watch it stretch.
Upwind VMG
5.11
38°
Beam reach
8.07
90°
Broad reach
9.02
135°
Downwind VMG
7.47
170°
Speed in knots at 20 knots of true wind. Green marks the angles that pay: the closest useful beat and the deepest run worth sailing.
Where it wins and where it pays
Every boat is judged against its own measurements — length, weight, sail area. The quicker those say it should be, the more it has to deliver just to break even. Going fast is not enough: it has to go faster than its own numbers promised.
It does its best work before the breeze fills in. In the light it does more than its numbers promise, and gives some of that back when the wind arrives.
Where it gains
Its best ground is on a broad reach when the breeze is soft, where it does more than its size and sail area promise, and by a margin worth having. It holds that advantage on the beam as well, so the gain is not down to one leg of the course.
Where it pays
It falls short downwind once it pipes up, giving away time it never gets back. That is a displacement hull working to its designed speed.
Above the line it delivers more than promised and gains on the fleet. Below, it falls short. Move the wind: plenty of boats sit on one side in the light and the other when it blows.
Full width is 0.4 kn either way.
At 10 knots this design makes back more than its rating asks on the broad reach.
How fast is a Elan 340
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 3.36 | 4.58 | 5.02 | 5.11 |
| 52° | 5.14 | 6.62 | 7.04 | 7.17 |
| 60° | 5.43 | 6.81 | 7.23 | 7.39 |
| 75° | 5.61 | 6.96 | 7.42 | 7.76 |
| 90° | 5.62 | 7.13 | 7.56 | 8.07 |
| 110° | 5.68 | 7.28 | 7.99 | 8.61 |
| 120° | 5.52 | 7.19 | 7.97 | 9.04 |
| 135° | 4.95 | 6.87 | 7.72 | 9.02 |
| 150° | 4.18 | 6.23 | 7.31 | 8.40 |
| Run VMG | 3.62 | 5.40 | 6.50 | 7.47 |
How they are set up
The range each sail spans across the fleet.
Roughly half carry a folding propeller. A bowsprit is standard across the fleet. Crew weight is declared around 560 kg.
Rigging
Elan 340 rig and sail dimensions
A Elan 340 carries 12.75 m of mainsail hoist on a 4.50 m boom, a forestay 13.46 m above the deck and a 4.47 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 29 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails
The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 70 to 102 m² depending on bowsprit and set-up. Before ordering a sail, read the figure on your own measurement record rather than the typical one for the design.