Monday, 14 September 2009

Elan 310 comparisons

I was wondering which boats the Elan 310 is strategically positioning itself against, and from different press releases it seems that the competitors are:

  • First 31,7 (probably being replaced soon with a scaled-down version of the new First 35)
  • Archambault 31
  • Jeanneau Sun Fast 3200
  • J/95
  • J/97
These are formidable opponents, and especially the First 31,7 has a large following, so it will be very interesting to see the real production performance of the boat.

Since the Elan 310 targets a different group than the J/95 (high performance daysailers) lets look more at the numbers of the remaining four competitors to compare for fun.

Elan 310 versus First 31,7 (numbers from yard)
  • LWL 8,71/8,80 (31,7 is 9cm longer)
  • Beam 3,22/3,23 (almost identical)
  • Sail area upwind 53,6 (107%)/62,5(140%) (advantage 31,7 - though with a Genoa 1)
  • Sail area downwind 105,2/94 (advantage Elan 310)
  • Deplacement 3750/3750 (identical)
  • Ballast percentage 30/27 (the 310 is likely a bit stiffer)
Elan 310 versus Archambault 31 (numbers from yard)
  • LWL 8,71/? (I have found no LWL measurements for A31....can anyone help?)
  • Beam 3,22/3,23 (identical)
  • Sail area upwind 53,6/50 (slight edge to Elan 310)
  • Sail area downwind 105,2/102 (slight edge to Elan 310)
  • Deplacement 3750/3050 (A31 is much lighter)
  • Ballast percentage 30/43 (A31 is a lot stiffer)
Elan 310 versus Jeanneau Sun Fast 3200 (numbers from yard)
  • LWL 8,71/8,55 (slight edge to Elan 310)
  • Beam 3,22/3,48 (slight edge to Sun Fast 3200)
  • Sail area upwind 53,6/66 (edge to Sun Fast 3200)
  • Sail area downwind 105,2/120 (edge to Sun Fast 3200)
  • Deplacement 3750/3500 (slight edge to Sun Fast)
  • Ballast percentage 30/37 (Sun Fast is stiffer - it needs this with the larger sail plan)
Elan 310 versus J/97 (numbers from yard)
  • LWL 8,71/8,11 (Elan 310 is quite a bit longer)
  • Beam 3,22/3,35 (slight edge to J - a bit more hull stable)
  • Sail area upwind 53,6/46,3 (edge to Elan 310)
  • Sail area downwind 105,2/ ? (SPI is about 80m2, but haven't found mainsail area for J/97...anyone?)
  • Deplacement 3750/3920 (slight edge to Elan 310)
  • Ballast percentage 30/33 (J is slightly stiffer)

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