Elan 40
Elan · Rob Humphreys · 2002
Updated
The Elan 40 is a 11.91 m displacement racing yacht designed by Rob Humphreys and built by Elan, first launched in 2002. It races in Class B. Across the measured fleet it goes better than its own numbers promise, ahead of 12% 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 12% of the boats it races against.
81st of 92 in its class.
This design has been found in real race results — 257 starts across 64 events — not only in measurement files.
Length
11.91 m
39′ 1″
Beam
3.84 m
Draft
2.06 m
Displacement
8.1 t
Sail area
87 m²
On the podium
Where a Elan 40 finishes when she goes racing.
On the podium
28%
of 257 starts by 16 boats
Wins
12%
Read from 257 starts by 16 boats between 2015 and 2026, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a Elan 40 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
"Πορος 2026"2026
Round Aeolian Race 2026 - Campionato Italiano Offshore ORC2026- "Νικολαος Σαρικαβαζης 2026"2026
- Aegean Regatta2026
- Kypello Voreiou Aigaiou2026
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
27%
of these races end on the podium
Offshore & coastal
26%
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 40 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Some of the boats it races against
How the Elan 40 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
5.50
38°
Beam reach
8.48
90°
Broad reach
9.20
135°
Downwind VMG
7.99
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, and by a margin worth having.
Where it pays
It falls short cracked off when it blows, 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 beam reach.
How fast is a Elan 40
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 3.52 | 4.82 | 5.36 | 5.50 |
| 52° | 5.38 | 7.01 | 7.51 | 7.66 |
| 60° | 5.69 | 7.21 | 7.70 | 7.87 |
| 75° | 5.92 | 7.37 | 7.89 | 8.20 |
| 90° | 5.83 | 7.44 | 7.96 | 8.48 |
| 110° | 5.74 | 7.56 | 8.27 | 8.85 |
| 120° | 5.55 | 7.45 | 8.25 | 9.23 |
| 135° | 4.97 | 7.04 | 8.00 | 9.20 |
| 150° | 4.18 | 6.33 | 7.59 | 8.65 |
| Run VMG | 3.62 | 5.50 | 6.76 | 7.99 |
How they are set up
The range each sail spans across the fleet.
Roughly half carry a folding propeller. Crew weight is declared around 630 kg.
Rigging
Elan 40 rig and sail dimensions
A Elan 40 carries 14.78 m of mainsail hoist on a 5.25 m boom, a forestay 15.04 m above the deck and a 5.10 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 19 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails
The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 86 to 120 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.