Elan 400
Elan · Rob Humphreys · 2013
Updated
The Elan 400 is a 11.94 m semi-displacement racing yacht designed by Rob Humphreys and built by Elan, first launched in 2013. It races in Class B.
Length
11.94 m
39′ 2″
Beam
3.89 m
Draft
2.34 m
Displacement
7.7 t
Sail area
89 m²
On the podium
Where a Elan 400 finishes when she goes racing.
On the podium
0%
of 14 starts by 3 boats
Wins
0%
Read from 14 starts by 3 boats between 2015 and 2026, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a Elan 400 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
151 Miglia - Trofeo Cetilar2026- 151 Miglia - Trofeo Cetilar2025
- Regata Brindisi-Corfù2024
- 151 Miglia - Trofeo Cetilar2024
Hollænderseilasen2023
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
—
Not enough data yet: no races of 10 NM or less carry a published distance.
Offshore & coastal
0%
of these races end on the podium
Who she races against
The designs a Elan 400 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Also met, too few times for a figure:
J/122 (7 meetings), First 36.7 (6 meetings), Elan 410 (5 meetings), X-41 (6 meetings), Comet 45 (4 meetings), Sun Fast 3600 (4 meetings), Dufour 34 (4 meetings), X-35 (5 meetings), First 40 (3 meetings), Comet 38 (Vallicelli) (3 meetings), Cookson 50 (3 meetings), Dufour 44 (3 meetings), First 47.7 (4 meetings), JOD 35 (4 meetings), Grand Soleil 43 (Carkeek) (3 meetings), Sun Fast 3200 (2 meetings), Farr 30 (2 meetings), Grand Soleil 40 (Carkeek) (2 meetings), Grand Soleil 37 (Carkeek) (2 meetings), Grand Soleil 46 (Carkeek) (2 meetings), Grand Soleil 42 (Carkeek) (2 meetings), Swan 42 (2 meetings), M 37 (2 meetings), X-442 (2 meetings), X-332 (2 meetings), First 35 (Farr) (2 meetings), Mylius 14 (2 meetings), Grand Soleil 43 (Maletto) (2 meetings), Salona 41 (2 meetings), Este 31 (2 meetings), T 34 (2 meetings), First 50 (2 meetings), IMX 40 (2 meetings), First 34.7 (2 meetings), First 30 (Kouyoumdjian) (2 meetings), Sun Odyssey 42 (Lombard) (2 meetings), Dufour 40 (2 meetings)
Some of the boats it races against
How the Elan 400 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
39°
Beam reach
9.07
90°
Broad reach
10.56
135°
Downwind VMG
8.28
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 design earns its keep off the wind. A course with long free legs suits it better than a windward-leeward.
Where it gains
Its best ground is on a broad reach once it pipes up, where it goes better than its measurements say it should, and by a margin worth having.
Where it pays
There is no condition where it falls away badly, which is worth something over a season of mixed weather.
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 0.6 kn either way.
At 10 knots this design makes back more than its rating asks on the broad reach.
How fast is a Elan 400
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 3.55 | 4.92 | 5.35 | 5.50 |
| 52° | 5.46 | 7.22 | 7.65 | 7.83 |
| 60° | 5.79 | 7.45 | 7.88 | 8.08 |
| 75° | 6.02 | 7.63 | 8.26 | 8.53 |
| 90° | 6.13 | 7.82 | 8.36 | 9.07 |
| 110° | 6.24 | 8.05 | 8.75 | 9.60 |
| 120° | 6.12 | 8.02 | 8.98 | 10.15 |
| 135° | 5.51 | 7.67 | 8.72 | 10.56 |
| 150° | 4.62 | 6.87 | 8.13 | 9.51 |
| Run VMG | 4.00 | 5.95 | 7.11 | 8.28 |
How they are set up
The range each sail spans across the fleet.
Nearly all carry a folding propeller. A bowsprit is standard across the fleet. Crew weight is declared around 650 kg.
Rigging
Elan 400 rig and sail dimensions
A Elan 400 carries 15.69 m of mainsail hoist on a 5.52 m boom, a forestay 15.92 m above the deck and a 5.80 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 3 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails