Desert Wind - new Elan 310

I recently got an email from Sasha that I was allowed to share here on the blog. First of all, congratulations, Sasha!

Here is what Sasha writes. My comments are below the text.

Hi Thomas,

I want to thank you for your e310 blog. It has a lot of useful info and was one of the major factors in my decision to go for 310. I wish blog was updated more frequently.

Initially I was concerned that 310 is  too small and for the same price it is possible to get 36ft mainstream cruiser. But after seeing 310 live in holland and sailing 350 in israel the choice was made :). 

So "Desert Wind" was born. It is probably one of the last 310 built. I went for barcolana promo plus quite a few things to make cruising easier. (I am not a racer at least not yet :P). I ordered cruising laminates from our local north sails + G2 with the sock.

We took delivery in Portoroz at the beginning of May. (Delivery in Portoroz) Me, my wife Yanina, our friend who has much more sailing expirience than i do and our two kids. There was a few problems here and there. The biggest was that elan passed wrong boom length to the northsail loft. In the end I got a longer than standard boom (about 5 cm longer).

We sailed to Dubrovnik with plenty of stops on the way, taking our time to learn the boat and being careful of weather. Boat stays in Dubrovnik till next spring. Then we plan to sail to Turkey.

So far I am very happy with e310. I find it fun to sail, very easy to handle single handed. Sails downwind/beam faster then most 40ft cruisers. Not a motorsailer though. Boat goes only 4 - 4.5 knots when going against the wind/waves. I guess you just can not have everything.

How you trim tack line when chute is flying ? The bowsprit supposed to have low friction ring but in reality I can not pull the line in in 10knot wind. I wonder if I am doing something wrong.

Did you have any troubles with bathing ladder plastic holders in the locker ? Mine are broken now even though there was nothing attached to the ladder.

Where you keep a life raft ? Mine sits under the cockpit table because i did not find a good place outside :(.

My major problem so far is that anchor chain practically touches top of the jib roller. I am waiting for answer from Elan on this one but I wonder if you know boats with similar issue.

As for the questions, I'll see if I can answer some of them.

Motoring speed: which engine do you have, Sasha? I have the 18hp engine, and have good power. But of course, going directly against wind/tide in rough seas is punishing.

The tack line trimming while the chute is flying. If there is power in the chute then the tackline needs winching. So go deeper, give out more sheet if you want easier trimming. If not, just grind it on the winch. I am not sure how your tackline runs, but I have relatively low friction. Could you perhaps show a picture of how the tackline runs forward on deck?

No problems with bathing ladder holders. Even with quite rough treatment they are still holding out. Maybe they have been mounted slightly off so they are in tension when the ladder is in place, eventually wearing out?

Life raft has been placed three different places: in the cockpit locker (not easy to get out in an emergency), under the saloon table (easier but not technically approved) and strapped down to the cockpit floor (where it is somewhat in the way of things, but safety wise best).

I am afraid I do not use a permanent anchor chain - I have rope with 10m chain in an anchor bag in the cockpit locker, so I cannot answer that question.

Maybe some of the other owners could contribute with their experiences on Sashas questions? Feel free to comment.