Elan 37
Elan · Rob Humphreys · 2004
Updated
The Elan 37 is a 11.21 m displacement racing yacht designed by Rob Humphreys and built by Elan, first launched in 2004. It races in Class C. Across the measured fleet it goes better than its own numbers promise, ahead of 35% 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 35% of the boats it races against.
103rd of 159 in its class.
This design has been found in real race results — 152 starts across 35 events — not only in measurement files.
Length
11.21 m
36′ 9″
Beam
3.59 m
Draft
2.33 m
Displacement
6.5 t
Sail area
74 m²
On the podium
Where a Elan 37 finishes when she goes racing.
On the podium
10%
of 152 starts by 15 boats
Wins
2%
Read from 152 starts by 15 boats between 2013 and 2026, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a Elan 37 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
Aegean Regatta2026- Kypello Voreiou Aigaiou2026
MIYC Winter Trophy 2026 - Act 62026
54° Campionato Invernale Vela d'Altura del Golfo di Napoli2026
Island Offshore - Race to the Arctic2026
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
7%
of these races end on the podium
Offshore & coastal
7%
of these races end on the podium
Level across both. Plenty of designs fall away once the course gets long — a light hull that thrives round the cans can struggle through a night at sea. This one does not.
Who she races against
The designs a Elan 37 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Some of the boats it races against
How the Elan 37 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
5.36
38°
Beam reach
8.36
90°
Broad reach
9.14
135°
Downwind VMG
7.97
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.
This one is at home going to windward. Windward-leeward courses give it more of what it is good at than a coastal race does.
Where it gains
Its best ground is to windward in a strong breeze, where it outruns what it looks like on paper.
Where it pays
It falls short on a broad reach in a strong breeze, 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 upwind.
How fast is a Elan 37
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 3.51 | 4.76 | 5.21 | 5.36 |
| 52° | 5.35 | 6.90 | 7.32 | 7.47 |
| 60° | 5.64 | 7.09 | 7.51 | 7.70 |
| 75° | 5.83 | 7.24 | 7.72 | 8.05 |
| 90° | 5.75 | 7.31 | 7.84 | 8.36 |
| 110° | 5.66 | 7.41 | 8.12 | 8.76 |
| 120° | 5.47 | 7.33 | 8.11 | 9.10 |
| 135° | 4.91 | 6.96 | 7.90 | 9.14 |
| 150° | 4.12 | 6.26 | 7.50 | 8.62 |
| Run VMG | 3.57 | 5.43 | 6.78 | 7.97 |
How they are set up
The range each sail spans across the fleet.
Nearly all carry a folding propeller. Crew weight is declared around 650 kg.
Rigging
Elan 37 rig and sail dimensions
A Elan 37 carries 13.66 m of mainsail hoist on a 4.87 m boom, a forestay 14.34 m above the deck and a 4.80 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 35 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails
The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 75 to 122 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.