Design
Stiffer, lighter, faster... and bigger
No question Elan Yachts are shooting ahead in the luxury performance sailing sector and their latest offering is something very special indeed
Elan Yachts’ E-Line range of performance cruisers has a brand new flagship. It’s been about five years since the last new model in the range was launched and the core concept has been significantly refined. So what’s new? Well, for starters Elan has set itself a very ambitious goal indeed: the new E6 is intended to be the fastest, lightest and stiffest 47ft production cruiser- racer on the market with a fully fitted interior. And as if that wasn’t enough, they’re also competing very strongly on price in a market segment that’s already crowded with well-established and highly regarded competitors. ‘We’ve been in this space since the 1980s and this is an evolution of our successful E-Line concept, not a redefinition,’ says Elan’s head of marketing, David Rajapakse. ‘In a way it’s back to our roots, because performance cruising is a fundamental part of Elan’s DNA. This is what Elan is historically known for. Our build quality is boutique-like, but this yacht also offers a different kind of performance – price performance. And we’re taking it to a whole new level in terms of design, technology, styling and usability. The racing version of the new E6 aims to be the fastest Elan ever and its aesthetics will be pushed to the next level by Pininfarina.’
72 SEAHORSE
Elan has also raised its game on the construction and build quality side of things. Its VAIL vacuum infusion process was already one of the brand’s key strengths, but all hull and deck materials have been comprehensively upgraded and the E6’s performance potential has been given a significant boost by the structural engineering expertise of Gurit. ‘The laminate plan and geometry have been pushed a lot further,’ Rajapakse says. ‘In plain terms, Gurit’s know-how and calculations have given us confidence and courage. They analyse every nook and cranny to calculate what we should reinforce, what we can remove, where we can shift focus. Also we have upgraded the hull/deck joint, especially at the stern, moving closer to a monolithic structure and thus creating a stronger, safer yacht.’
One thing hasn’t changed in the development of the new E6. Humphreys Yacht Design is still in charge of the naval architecture, which builds on their previous success with this type of boat. ‘With Elan we really were one of the earliest adopters of twin rudders in a production yacht setting and with a more shorthanded ocean racing style influence,’ Rob Humphreys explains. ‘This proved extremely popular and
Above: what happens
when you take a Humphreys hull and add industrial design from Pininfarina? You get Elanʼs new 14-metre E-Line flag- ship, the E6, which will be available for test sails in Portorož,
Slovenia from April 2022
very much suited the concept of performance cruising with a shorthanded or family crew, allowing a jump in performance, particularly reaching and downwind as well as upwind in stronger breeze.’ ‘It is really this core concept that we have continued to develop and refine with Elan over a number of models and the E6 is the latest in this line of thinking,’ he says. ‘There is always refinement with each new model and the development of the E6 has been no different, an optimisation process consistent with the dual-purpose racer/cruiser ethos that has been the hallmark of the range for a number of years.’ A lot of effort has gone into CFD modelling and analysis to finesse the E6’s sailing performance and handling. ‘In this case we utilised our in-house panel code at the initial development phase to assess a range of candidate forms,’ Tom Humphreys says. ‘This comprises of running the hull forms across a matrix of speed, heel and leeway angles, which can then be read into our VPP to assess and compare each candidate’s performance. At the end of the day, the design of a production yacht like this must take multiple considerations into account, many of which extend well beyond the yacht’s performance as such, with plenty of
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