Elan E5

I first saw the Elan E5 at Las Palmas Marina while waiting for the start of the 2014 Atlantic Rally for Cruisers. The boat like many new cruiser racers has a wide transom incorporating a soft chine and had been sailed by an Australian couple two handed through the Med on to Las Palmas and were now doing the 2900 mile ARC race two handed...

The 40-foot E5 is the epitome of the modern sports cruiser thanks to chines, T-keel, twin rudders and keel stepped performance rig. But the cruiser aspect is also very much in evidence with a fully-fitted interior and a sea kindly hull that is deep and fairly rounded, rather than flatter at the ends like its sportier sibling, the Elan 350. For those buyers who want to chase the silverware, the S range would be the way to go, thanks to lighter hulls – infused decks and composite mouldings inside takes about 700 kilograms out of the E5 hull – plus the use of carbon spars to reduce weight aloft by around 200 kilograms...