YachtCodex
Elan

Impression 40.1

Discontinued
Elan Impression 40.1 — photo 1

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Elan

Design

Designer
Humphreys Yacht Design & Elan Design Team
Naval architect
Humphreys Yacht Design

Summary

39.3 ftLOA57.7 ftAIR DRAFT5.9 ftDRAFT12.8 ftBEAM
Sailing MonohullSail
Length overall
39.3 ft
Beam
12.8 ft
Draft
4.9–5.9 ft
Air draft
57.7 ft
Displacement
18,188 lb
Cabins
2–3
Steering wheels
2

* A standard reference image, not the actual boat — shown to help visualise this model's published dimensions.

Best Suited For

Tags are derived from certified class, length, sail area, accommodation and tankage using the criteria described on the Sources page; an editor may add or remove one.

Sailing Ratios

Classic yacht-design ratios worked out from the builder's published figures, each shown against the bands designers read it by.

Sail area / displacement

How much sail the boat carries for its weight — its power in light air.

ModestCruiserPerformanceRacing162024Impression 40.1: 18.9
  • 18.9· Cruiser
How it is worked out

sail area (ft²) ÷ (displacement as ft³ of seawater)^⅔

mainsail + genoa, added up

Displacement / length

How heavy the boat is for its waterline length. Lower is lighter and quicker; higher is steadier and roomier.

UltralightLightModerateHeavyVery heavy100180270350Impression 40.1: 230
  • 230· Moderate
How it is worked out

displacement (long tons) ÷ (0.01 × waterline length in ft)³

Ballast ratio

The share of the weight carried in the keel — a rough guide to stiffness, though how deep that weight sits matters as much.

LowModerateHigh3040Impression 40.1: 31
  • 31· Moderate
How it is worked out

ballast ÷ displacement × 100

Comfort ratio

Ted Brewer's measure of how gently a boat moves in a seaway. Higher means a slower, easier motion.

LightCoastalModerate offshoreHeavy offshoreVery heavy20304050Impression 40.1: 26.8
  • 26.8· Coastal
How it is worked out

displacement (lb) ÷ (0.65 × (0.7 × LWL + 0.3 × LOA) × beam^1.333), lengths in ft

Capsize screening

A guide from the inquiry after the 1979 Fastnet race: below 2 was taken as suited to ocean passages. It ignores hull shape and where the ballast sits.

Below 22 and above2Impression 40.1: 1.95
  • 1.95· Below 2
How it is worked out

beam (ft) ÷ (displacement as ft³ of seawater)^⅓

Hull speed

Roughly the speed a displacement hull reaches before it has to climb its own bow wave.

  • 7.7 kn
How it is worked out

1.34 × √(waterline length in ft), in knots

Most builders publish a light displacement. The ratios were defined on a loaded boat, so every boat here reads a little lighter than a surveyor's figure would — all alike, which keeps them comparable.

Tanks

What the builder publishes about how fast, how strong and how much the boat carries.

Fuel and water on one scale: a tank twice the height holds twice as much.

  • Fuel39 gal
    Water63 gal

A figure marked with a quote mark was read from the builder's page. Open it for the exact line, the page and the date.

Dimensions

LOA
39.3 ft (11.99 m)
Hull length
37.7 ft (11.48 m)
LWL
32.8 ft (10 m)
Beam
12.8 ft (3.91 m)
Draft (min)
4.9 ft (1.5 m)
Draft (max)
5.9 ft (1.8 m)
Air draft
57.7 ft (17.6 m)
Displacement
18,188 lb (8,250 kg)
Ballast
5,611 lb (2,545 kg)
Cabins
2–3
Heads
1–2
Berths
—

Sail Plan

Main sail
408 ft² (37.9 m²)
Jib
—
Genoa
410 ft² (38.11 m²)
Sail area
—
Downwind sail area
872 ft² (81 m²)
Rig type
—

Engine and Tanks

Engine
29.1–45 hp (Yanmar)
Engine count
1
Engine manufacturer
Yanmar
Propulsion type
—
Fuel capacity
39 gal (146 L)
Fresh water capacity
63 gal (240 L)
Black water capacity
—

Construction

Mast material
—
Hull material
—
Deck material
—
Keel type
L-shaped keel
Rudder type
—
Steering wheels
2

Figures read fromthe builder's page

About Elan

Premium production

Slovenian builder of cruising and racing sailing yachts, based in Begunje na Gorenjskem, offering the E, Impression, and GT lines.

Elan was founded in 1945 by Rudi Finžgar -- ski jumper, carpenter and innovator -- as a workshop for skis and sporting goods, in the Alpine woodworking country above Lake Bled. Boatbuilding followed in 1949 with wooden boats for the local lakes, and in 1962 Elan became one of the first European yards to adopt glass-reinforced polyester, producing rowing, sailing and outboard boats in their thousands for Italy, Scandinavia and Germany; the GT 495 was the bestseller. From 1978 the yard worked in advanced composites -- vacuum epoxy and post-curing, later carbon epoxy -- building hundreds of high-performance sailplanes with the German specialist Glaser-Dirks. The partnership with J&J Design, founded by Japec and Jernej Jakopin, began in 1983 and produced the cruiser-racers Elan 31, 33, 39, 43 and 35 Performance; the 31R won the 1985 IOR Three-Quarter Ton Worlds and yacht revenues grew tenfold by 1987. A new performance line designed by Rob Humphreys arrived in 1992, opening a partnership of decades that brought three European Yacht of the Year awards. Elan moved to vacuum-assisted infusion in the early 2000s -- the first European yard to use it in series production -- completing the shift from open-mould lamination in 2003, and by 2006-2007 was building over 300 boats a year. The Elan 350 took European Yacht of the Year in 2011 by unanimous vote, and the GT6 of 2020, the E6 of 2021 and the bluewater GT6 Explorer of 2023 mark the yard's move towards performance luxury.

Visit brand page

The Elan Range

Every model Elan publishes, by length — where this one sits in the range.

  1. GT6 Explorer49.7 ft
  2. Impression 4544.6 ft
  3. Impression 45.1Discontinued44.3 ft
  4. Impression 43Discontinued43.7 ft
  5. GT543.3 ft
  6. Impression 40.1· this modelDiscontinued39.3 ft
  7. E539.2 ft
  8. E434.8 ft
  9. E3Discontinued30.3 ft

By the Same Designers

Boats this boat's designers also drew, for other builders too. Credits are grouped only where the names clearly agree, however each builder spelled them; an unclear one is left out.

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