Elan 45 Specs, History and Used Boat Guide

The original Elan 45, before the name was reused

The Elan 45 belongs to the first wave of Rob Humphreys designs for the Slovenian yard, which hired him in 1995 and began with the Elan 295. Sailboatdata lists the Elan 45 from 2000, and Elan Marine's website carried dedicated Elan 45 pages from 2001 onward. It sat at the top of a performance range that also included the Elan 333, 36, 37 and 40, the last of which won Cruising World's 2004 Boat of the Year award in its class, and it was still on Elan's site in 2007 when the new Elan 450 was launched to replace it.

Today the boat is overshadowed by its own name. Many listings for the much later Elan Impression 45 are titled 'Elan 45 Impression', and the Elan 450 and the first Elan E6 occupied the same size slot afterwards. If you searched for the Elan 45 meaning one of those boats, the next section shows how to tell them apart.

Elan 45, Impression 45, Elan 450 or E6?

Four Elan sailboats of roughly 45 ft share overlapping names. Check the build year and these features before comparing prices.

• Elan 45 (2000 to about 2007): masthead rig, single balanced rudder, twin wheels, conventional low coachroof, hand-laid hull, 13.70 m overall
• Elan 450 (launched 2007 to 2008): plumb bow, wide chined stern, twin rudders, retractable bowsprit and self-tacking jib, 13.60 m overall
• Elan E6 badge (about 2017 to 2019): the Elan 450 design sold under the E line name; the 2022 E6 is a different 50 ft boat
• Elan Impression 45 (late 2014 to 2019): deck-saloon cruiser with raised coachroof and fractional rig, 13.85 m overall

A masthead rig and twin wheels on a 2000-era hull

Unlike the fractional, chined Elans that followed, the Elan 45 is a conventional masthead sloop with a big overlapping genoa. Elan's later data sheet lists a 47 m2 mainsail, a 71 m2 genoa and a 180 m2 spinnaker; on main and 100 percent foretriangle sailboatdata calculates 88.4 m2 (951 sq ft). The keel-stepped mast has two sets of aft-swept airfoil spreaders, a rigid gas-spring vang and a single-line reefing boom, and Elan supplied spinnaker halyard, pole uphaul and a pole rail as standard, so it was clearly intended to race as well as cruise.

The numbers describe a moderate cruiser-racer. Sailboatdata gives a sail area to displacement ratio of 18.6, a ballast ratio near 34 percent, displacement to length of about 195, a comfort ratio of 27.9 and a capsize screening value of 1.92, with a theoretical hull speed of 8.2 knots on its 37 ft 8 in waterline. Twin leather-covered 1 m wheels each carry a compass and engine controls are at the pedestal, an early example of the twin-wheel layout Elan later made standard across its range, here steering a single balanced rudder.

Hand-laid, before Elan switched to infusion

The Elan 45 predates Elan's adoption of vacuum-assisted infusion in 2003, and Elan's specification as late as 2004 still described a hand-laid hull. Elan's specification describes a hand-laid laminate whose first two underwater layers use isophthalic polyester resin for osmosis protection, and a one-piece deck laminate that is partly polyester and balsa sandwich for thermal and sound insulation. The deck is glued to a flange on the hull, through-bolted and laminated with multiaxial fabric at the transom and anchor area.

The 3,550 kg cast iron keel draws 2.10 m, with a 2.30 m lead keel as the performance option. The balanced rudder is a GRP blade on a stainless steel stock with an internal stainless grid. The boat carried a CE category A certificate issued by Germanischer Lloyd. For a buyer, the practical consequences are a robust, heavier-than-infused hull, a balsa-cored deck that must be checked for moisture around every fitting, and an iron keel whose bolts and joint deserve attention after two decades.

Five interior versions from two cabins to four

Elan's specification lists five interior versions, all with a U-shaped galley with Corian worktops, a top-opening 12V fridge and gimballed three-burner cooker, a U-shaped saloon settee for eight plus a centerline seat, a 700 by 600 mm chart table with a big drained oilskin locker, and headroom of roughly 1.86 to 2.00 m depending on the cabin.

• Version 1: two forward doubles separated by a removable centerline bulkhead, two aft doubles, forward head plus separate shower, aft head with shower
• Version 2: one large forward double instead of two, with two aft doubles
• Version 3: forward owner's cabin with en suite bathroom, a two-berth bunk cabin and two aft doubles, full teak deck
• Version 4: forward owner's cabin, bunk cabin and one large aft cabin with settees
• Version 5: forward and aft owner-style cabins only, full teak deck; the couple's boat

Engine, tanks and systems as delivered

Elan specified a 56 hp diesel on a saildrive with a fixed propeller, a 55 A alternator and three 100 Ah batteries (engine, windlass and house), with the engine mounted on a bracket built into the inner moulding and reached through the aft cabins. Sailboatdata records a 50 hp Yanmar. Elan's 2007 data gives 270 liters (71 gallons) of fuel and 520 liters (137 gallons) of water in stainless tanks, with tank positions varying by layout, plus a 28 liter water heater. On deck there is a 1,200 W windlass, a double bow roller, a folding transom bathing platform and a liferaft locker at the back of the cockpit close to the waterline.

Twenty-plus years on, assume every one of those systems has been replaced at least once or needs to be. The saildrive and its diaphragm, the 12V panel, tanks and seacocks are the high-value checks.

Buying an Elan 45 a quarter century on

Elan 45s are scarce on the American market and uncommon even in Europe, so expect to search through brokers in the Adriatic, Germany, Austria and Scandinavia. Pricing is a matter of condition. A realistic US range is about $75,000 to $135,000, with the top reserved for boats that have new standing rigging, sails, electronics and a documented saildrive service, and the bottom for tired former charter or racing boats needing deck and systems work.

Against a same-age Beneteau First or Jeanneau, the Elan 45 offers a solidly engineered hull, twin wheels, a choice of practical layouts and good build detail, but less dealer support and fewer owners to compare notes with. For a buyer who sails hard and maintains carefully, it is an underrated way to get a 45 ft cruiser-racer for small-boat money.