Elan S3
Elan · Rob Humphreys · 2013
Updated
The Elan S3 is a 9.25 m displacement racing yacht designed by Rob Humphreys and built by Elan, first launched in 2013. It races in Class C.
Length
9.25 m
30′ 4″
Beam
3.24 m
Draft
2.17 m
Displacement
3.9 t
Sail area
55 m²
On the podium
Where a Elan S3 finishes when she goes racing.
0
Wins
0
Seconds
0
Thirds
8
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 8 starts by 2 boats between 2021 and 2026, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a Elan S3 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
73° Loro Piana Giraglia2026- Regata Brindisi-Corfù2022
- Regata Brindisi-Corfù2021
- Coppa dei Campioni VIII Zona2021
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
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Not enough data yet: 8 races over 10 NM carry a published distance.
Who she races against
The designs a Elan S3 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Also met, too few times for a figure:
X-35 (6 meetings), Salona 37 (5 meetings), X-332 (5 meetings), Sun Fast 3600 (5 meetings), First 34.7 (5 meetings), Comet 38 (Finot) (5 meetings), Dehler 30 OD (5 meetings), Swan 41 (5 meetings), Oceanis 41 (5 meetings), Comet 38 (Vallicelli) (6 meetings), J/35 (4 meetings), First 40.7 (5 meetings), Archambault 40 (3 meetings), M 37 (3 meetings), Italia 9.98 (2 meetings), Grand Soleil 40 (Paperini) (2 meetings), Grand Soleil 46 (Jézéquel) (2 meetings), Zuanelli 401 (2 meetings), Sun Odyssey 49 (2 meetings), Bavaria Holiday 38 (2 meetings), Sun Odyssey 43 (2 meetings), Sweden Yachts 340 (2 meetings), Bavaria Cruiser 37 (2 meetings), Italia 11.98 (2 meetings), Comet 41 (1 meeting), ILC 40 (1 meeting), First 31.7 (1 meeting), XR 41 (2 meetings), Sinergia 40 (1 meeting), Solaris 44 (1 meeting), Swan 45 (2 meetings), Rodman 42 (1 meeting), J/122 (1 meeting), Jv 56 (1 meeting), Grand Soleil 52 (1 meeting), Comet 45 (1 meeting), Farr 45 (1 meeting), First 45 (Briand) (3 meetings)
Some of the boats it races against
How the Elan S3 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
4.72
39°
Beam reach
7.88
90°
Broad reach
9.47
135°
Downwind VMG
7.46
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.
Reaching and running is where this one pays. A course with long free legs suits it better than a windward-leeward.
Where it gains
Its best ground is on a broad reach in a strong breeze, where it does more than its size and sail area promise, and by a margin worth having.
Where it pays
It falls short on the beat 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 0.8 kn either way.
At 10 knots this design makes back more than its rating asks on the broad reach.
How fast is a Elan S3
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 3.28 | 4.38 | 4.68 | 4.72 |
| 52° | 4.96 | 6.36 | 6.71 | 6.81 |
| 60° | 5.21 | 6.56 | 6.93 | 7.06 |
| 75° | 5.43 | 6.77 | 7.21 | 7.47 |
| 90° | 5.68 | 7.01 | 7.42 | 7.88 |
| 110° | 5.70 | 7.21 | 7.86 | 8.56 |
| 120° | 5.57 | 7.18 | 8.02 | 8.95 |
| 135° | 4.99 | 6.90 | 7.86 | 9.47 |
| 150° | 4.21 | 6.23 | 7.29 | 8.54 |
| Run VMG | 3.65 | 5.39 | 6.41 | 7.46 |
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 410 kg.
Rigging
Elan S3 rig and sail dimensions
A Elan S3 carries 12.03 m of mainsail hoist on a 4.14 m boom, a forestay 12.17 m above the deck and a 4.51 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 2 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails