Elan 444
Elan · Rob Humphreys · 2004
Updated
The Elan 444 is a 12.99 m heavy displacement racing yacht designed by Rob Humphreys and built by Elan, first launched in 2004. It races in Class B.
Length
12.99 m
42′ 7″
Beam
4.20 m
Draft
1.91 m
Displacement
11.5 t
Sail area
88 m²
On the podium
Where a Elan 444 finishes when she goes racing.
0
Wins
0
Seconds
0
Thirds
1
Starts
Not enough races yet for a percentage — these are the counts so far. We keep collecting results, so this will fill in.
Read from 1 start by 1 boat between 2024, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a Elan 444 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
151 Miglia - Trofeo Cetilar2024
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
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Not enough data yet: no races of 10 NM or less carry a published distance.
Offshore & coastal
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Not enough data yet: 1 race over 10 NM carry a published distance.
Who she races against
The designs a Elan 444 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Met too few times for a figure:
H&r 412 (1 meeting), Elan 40 (1 meeting), Swan 54 (1 meeting), More 40 (2 meetings), Grand Soleil 40 (Paperini) (2 meetings), Genesi 43 (1 meeting), Archambault 40 (1 meeting), Elan 410 (2 meetings), Grand Soleil 39 (Maletto) (1 meeting), Grand Soleil 39 (Jézéquel) (1 meeting), First 31.7 (1 meeting), First 40.7 (1 meeting), Grand Soleil 45 (Judel/Vrolijk) (1 meeting), X-43 (1 meeting), Grand Soleil 37 (Carkeek) (1 meeting), Sun Fast 40 (1 meeting), Latini 52 (1 meeting), Elan 450 (1 meeting), First 45 (Briand) (1 meeting), Elan 333 (1 meeting), First 36.7 (1 meeting), Sun Odyssey 35 (1 meeting), Bavaria 44 (1 meeting), Grand Soleil 46 (Carkeek) (1 meeting), Grand Soleil 43 (Carkeek) (1 meeting), Solaris 48 (1 meeting), Solaris 44 (1 meeting)
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
5.21
42°
Beam reach
8.54
90°
Broad reach
9.09
135°
Downwind VMG
8.10
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 needs pressure to show what it can do. Give it a fresh day and long legs and it delivers more than it promised; in a drifter it is working uphill.
Where it gains
Its best ground is on a reach in moderate air, where it outruns what it looks like on paper, and by a margin worth having.
Where it pays
It falls short to windward in light air, giving away time it never gets back.
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 beam reach.
How fast is a Elan 444
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 3.00 | 4.28 | 4.98 | 5.21 |
| 52° | 4.75 | 6.51 | 7.38 | 7.69 |
| 60° | 5.11 | 6.84 | 7.64 | 7.98 |
| 75° | 5.36 | 7.10 | 7.88 | 8.35 |
| 90° | 5.31 | 7.31 | 8.10 | 8.54 |
| 110° | 5.44 | 7.49 | 8.34 | 9.13 |
| 120° | 5.28 | 7.36 | 8.29 | 9.28 |
| 135° | 4.71 | 6.86 | 8.03 | 9.09 |
| 150° | 3.99 | 6.10 | 7.57 | 8.68 |
| Run VMG | 3.46 | 5.29 | 6.74 | 8.10 |
How they are set up
The range each sail spans across the fleet.
Nearly all carry a folding propeller. Crew weight is declared around 640 kg.
Rigging
Elan 444 rig and sail dimensions
A Elan 444 carries 15.14 m of mainsail hoist on a 5.27 m boom, a forestay 15.59 m above the deck. Typical figures across the 2 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails
The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 99 to 116 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.