Impression 45

Design

Designer

Humphreys Yacht Design & Elan Design Team

Naval architect

Humphreys Yacht Design

Summary

Best Suited For

• Short-Handed

  From the published figures: LOA 13.6 m · mainsail 46.68 m²

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.

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.

Dimensions

LOA

44.6 ft (13.6 m)

Hull length

42.1 ft (12.82 m)

LWL

40 ft (12.2 m)

Beam

13.9 ft (4.25 m)

Draft (min)

5.6 ft (1.7 m)

Draft (max)

6.4 ft (1.95 m)

Air draft

65.3 ft (19.9 m)

Displacement

24,471 lb (11,100 kg)

Ballast

7,807 lb (3,541 kg)

Cabins

3–4

Heads

2

Berths

—

Sail Plan

Main sail

502 ft² (46.68 m²)

Jib

367 ft² (34.1 m²)

Genoa

445 ft² (41.3 m²)

Sail area

—

Downwind sail area

1,270 ft² (118 m²)

Rig type

—

Engine and Tanks

Engine

45–80 hp (Yanmar)

Engine count

1

Engine manufacturer

Yanmar

Propulsion type

shaft drive

Fuel capacity

76 gal (287 L)

Fresh water capacity

71 gal (270 L)

Black water capacity

—

Construction

Mast material

—

Hull material

GRP

Deck material

—

Keel type

L-shaped keel

Rudder type

—

Steering wheels

2

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.

The Elan Range

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

1. E650.2 ft
2. Impression 50.149.8 ft
3. GT649.7 ft
4. GT6 Explorer49.7 ft
5. Impression 45· this model44.6 ft
6. GT543.3 ft
7. E539.2 ft
8. E434.8 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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