Elan Owners Association?

[picardy]

Does anyone know if there is an Elan Owners Association and if so whether they have a website?

If not and I wanted to launch a website that contained technical data, manuals, boats for sale etc would I need any permissions from Elan etc.

Thanks in advance

 

[Racecruiser]

Does anyone know if there is an Elan Owners Association and if so whether they have a website?

If not and I wanted to launch a website that contained technical data, manuals, boats for sale etc would I need any permissions from Elan etc.

Thanks in advance

I haven't come across an Elan owners association and while I don't know for sure that may be because the Elan range is very diverse in terms of size and type of boat. Also I think it's been confusing in recent years who has been representing Elan across the UK.

I have a share in an Elan 295 (later developed into the Elan 31) - two owners before we bought her in 2010. Love the boat although she can be a touch twitchy upwind - however as a pretty comfortable cruiser racer at just over 30ft (295 apparantly refers to the beam) she takes some beating, eg Cowes Cherbourg in 10 hours 15 mins which included a beat down the solent.

Jim Macgregor may be worth talking to - google Spinnaker Yachts Poole. He's had a succession of very successful Elans called Flair and Spinnaker is a sailing events outfit.

Be interested to hear what else you get back.

 

[dunedin]

Jim Macgregor may be worth talking to - google Spinnaker Yachts Poole. He's had a succession of very successful Elans called Flair and Spinnaker is a sailing events outfit.

Be interested to hear what else you get back.

+1. Jim is very helpful and well connected so a good call.

Also try Bill McKay at the Scottish Élan dealers - I believe he helped Élan with the setup of their yacht building operations many years back (poss the 333 generation)

 

[j24jam]

There is currently no elan owners assoc. It may be worth emailing one of the uk dealers about it. There are three - Hamble (mark chapman yachts), dartmouth (yachts of dartmouth) and essex (tollesbury marina)

 

[Skysail]

The Moody Owners Association acquired the entire spares stock of Premier Marinas mainly for the considerable stock of Moody parts. Included were some Elan and Island Packet parts - stanchions, hatches, hardware, etc. I tried to find an Elan Owners group with no success. If Elan owners want to get in touch please feel free, the MOA has already built such a website with technical data, manuals, Moody boats for sale, etc, and we might be able to help.

 

[picardy]

Sounds great thanks. PM sent

 

[Alenka]

I cannot imagine for one moment that Elan would object to you starting an owners association.

Bill Mckay is not only a true gentleman and a wealth of knowledge on Elans he is also very well connected with the management there. I feel sure if you drop him an email he will glady assist.

If MOA are offering you a web site template then what better start could you have - Go for it!

Good luck and where do I join?

 

[Tamer11]

Was a Elan owners association ever started? I have just bought an Impression 344 and I am looking for some spares.

 

[lustyd]

Owners associations are becoming a bit old hat these days and Facebook seems to have taken over. There are two Elan owners groups there, both appear to be very popular

 

[Tamer11]

....thanks for reply lustyd I will have a look

 

[dolabriform]

The facebook groups are also monitored and contributed to by Elan staff. Their FB page is also very good.

If you need any technical information, an email to Elan directly will normally get a quick response with detailed info.

 

[Cloud 5]

The facebook groups are also monitored and contributed to by Elan staff. Their FB page is also very good.

If you need any technical information, an email to Elan directly will normally get a quick response with detailed info.

Elan are one of the best built and designed boats on the market , ahead of the jeanneau , benny , Bavaria etc , basically from the same design team associated with oyster .

 

[roblpm]

Elan are one of the best built and designed boats on the market , ahead of the jeanneau , benny , Bavaria etc , basically from the same design team associated with oyster .

I am interested when I finally get my next boat. They seem to be the only mass manufacturer who puts their stability curves in the brochures.

Downsides are they are maybe a bit light?

And practically most seem to be ex charter in Croatia which is a distance and VAT challenge for the UK. Also seem to be very few 2 cabin versions of the mid 30 foot boats as they are all charter.

An Elan 384 Impression would do for me I think. These guys bought one in Europe and sailed it to Australia https://www.youtube.com/c/FindingAvalon/videos

How much is a delivery from Croatia?!

 

[dolabriform]

I am interested when I finally get my next boat. They seem to be the only mass manufacturer who puts their stability curves in the brochures.

Downsides are they are maybe a bit light?

And practically most seem to be ex charter in Croatia which is a distance and VAT challenge for the UK. Also seem to be very few 2 cabin versions of the mid 30 foot boats as they are all charter.

An Elan 384 Impression would do for me I think. These guys bought one in Europe and sailed it to Australia https://www.youtube.com/c/FindingAvalon/videos

How much is a delivery from Croatia?!

We have an Elan 36 and can't fault it. They are solidly built and the quality of finish is excellent.

The support from Elan for older boats is really good, they are always eager to help if they can.

Why Yachts who are UK dealers have a few for sale:
Boats for Sale – Why Boats

I think that the private ones don't come on the market very often and they are sought after.

If you buy one in Croatia I would be up for helping with the delivery trip

 

[roblpm]

We have an Elan 36 and can't fault it. They are solidly built and the quality of finish is excellent.

The support from Elan for older boats is really good, they are always eager to help if they can.

Why Yachts who are UK dealers have a few for sale:
Boats for Sale – Why Boats

I think that the private ones don't come on the market very often and they are sought after.

If you buy one in Croatia I would be up for helping with the delivery trip

Did you buy in Croatia? Where are you now?

 

[Tranona]

How much is a delivery from Croatia?!

Probably not economic to buy in Croatia for use in UK. I know you can buy a charter boat ex VAT, but in euros - and as you have seen most will be charter spec 3 cabin. shipping will cost £8k or so plus you will need to have certification at a minimum of £500. The boats (384) are mostly 15 years old and will have had a hard life, but current asking prices are in the £45-50k range, so £60K delivered plus VAT £72k. One for sale in Plymouth for £60k tax paid. (similar asking price to a Bav 37 or Hanse 370 of the same age)

I looked at a 344 Impression to replace my Bav 37 in 2005/6 and to be honest although it had some nice features it was not sufficiently better than a Bav33 to warrant the near 20% price premium. Elans have a mixed history in the UK. The cruiser races such as the 31, 33, 333 and the 40' sizes were very popular, particularly in our club in the early 2000s and guess there are still a dozen or so around in the harbour. One or 2 members have also bought newer boats primarily for racing. However, they have never had a stable dealer network, and the Impression charter/cruising range never made an impression (pardon the pun) in the UK. Tough when you were up against Benny, Jeanneau, Bavaria and later Hanse, all with good product ranges and organised well established dealers . So, while you will find plenty in the charter fleet in Croatia, particularly Impressions very few anywhere else.

There is plenty of choice from other builders especially if you add such brands as Dufour and Dehler for example that will do everything that a 384 will do. So OK if one comes up, but if that is your one and only you could be boatless for a long time waiting for one to come on the market.

 

[Juan Twothree]

At first glance I read that as Elsan Owners Association.

My mind was truly boggled, for a moment.

 

[roblpm]

Probably not economic to buy in Croatia for use in UK. I know you can buy a charter boat ex VAT, but in euros - and as you have seen most will be charter spec 3 cabin. shipping will cost £8k or so plus you will need to have certification at a minimum of £500. The boats (384) are mostly 15 years old and will have had a hard life, but current asking prices are in the £45-50k range, so £60K delivered plus VAT £72k. One for sale in Plymouth for £60k tax paid. (similar asking price to a Bav 37 or Hanse 370 of the same age)

I looked at a 344 Impression to replace my Bav 37 in 2005/6 and to be honest although it had some nice features it was not sufficiently better than a Bav33 to warrant the near 20% price premium. Elans have a mixed history in the UK. The cruiser races such as the 31, 33, 333 and the 40' sizes were very popular, particularly in our club in the early 2000s and guess there are still a dozen or so around in the harbour. One or 2 members have also bought newer boats primarily for racing. However, they have never had a stable dealer network, and the Impression charter/cruising range never made an impression (pardon the pun) in the UK. Tough when you were up against Benny, Jeanneau, Bavaria and later Hanse, all with good product ranges and organised well established dealers . So, while you will find plenty in the charter fleet in Croatia, particularly Impressions very few anywhere else.

There is plenty of choice from other builders especially if you add such brands as Dufour and Dehler for example that will do everything that a 384 will do. So OK if one comes up, but if that is your one and only you could be boatless for a long time waiting for one to come on the market.

All true. I think I need bigger than 34 as I am going to live on it, have a partner who is not a minimalist and want to do the very occasional ocean crossing.

So...... 384 is attractive as I like the offset v berth, it is decently heavy and Elan publish their stability curves.

However as you say, 2 aft cabins is not ideal.

Brexit has also put a spanner in the works. The plan was to refit in Scotland. Then med and Caribbean and never come back! ? Now its not so easy. The boat will be used in med and Caribbean long term. So UK boats aren't that attractive in terms of setup. But if I buy in EU refitting there and fiddling is gonna be more expensive than doing it here. Ideally I would have the boat in the UK for about 3 years getting ready.

Anyway no hurry. I am going to buy in about 2 years when the prices have crashed post covid and everyone has realised what a financial disaster owning a boat is! ?

 

[dunedin]

Did you buy in Croatia? Where are you now?

There used to be quite a few Elan’s in Scotland, and I believe Bill McKay helped them with the development of some of their boats (including the Elan 333 and 36).
I think Peter Cameron, now at Great Harbour Yachts, used to sell and sail Elan yachts so would know a lot about them … Team | Great Harbour Yachts LLP

 

[Tranona]

All true. I think I need bigger than 34 as I am going to live on it, have a partner who is not a minimalist and want to do the very occasional ocean crossing.

So...... 384 is attractive as I like the offset v berth, it is decently heavy and Elan publish their stability curves.

However as you say, 2 aft cabins is not ideal.

Brexit has also put a spanner in the works. The plan was to refit in Scotland. Then med and Caribbean and never come back! ? Now its not so easy. The boat will be used in med and Caribbean long term. So UK boats aren't that attractive in terms of setup. But if I buy in EU refitting there and fiddling is gonna be more expensive than doing it here. Ideally I would have the boat in the UK for about 3 years getting ready.

Anyway no hurry. I am going to buy in about 2 years when the prices have crashed post covid and everyone has realised what a financial disaster owning a boat is! ?

Dufours have offset forward berths on some models. Actually a 3 cabin has a lot going for it for a liveaboard. You can convert one aft cabin to storage workshop. Once you get over 36' most forecabins even with V berths make good double in port berths and aft cabin good seaberths. If you are budget constrained then a good bet is a 2 cabin early 2000s Bav 37. If I had the choice when I bought mine that would have been it, but had to earn money chartering and berth numbers count! Has a decent size loo and two armchairs in the saloon opposite a C shaped dinette, good size galley and loads of storage. Between £40-50k.

Not sure why you think publishing stability curves is desirable - you will never get anywhere near the point where these have any meaning. Equally with weight - you are going to stuff 2 tons minimum into the boat to go cruising. Any of the mainstream boats from the 2000s will do your job as has been shown by all the folks who have done it. You will spend up to 90% of your time in port or at anchor, out of the moving time 40-50% will be under motor and 95% will be in winds under 20 knots. Success in such a venture is more down to the crew, choosing the right type of gear and planning rather than the boat.

Having run a charter boat in the Med have a pretty good idea of what is what with buying one for cruising. 15 years ago it was good to do what you planned, but in my view not now. In those days fleets were renewed after 5-6 years because the market was expanding and builders were churning out new boats at low prices. The year I bought mine (2001) just the one fleet added 63 boats almost all on fixed 6 year operating contracts with a 4 year refit. I took my boat over after 7 years (last one was on a different arrangement) and I spent less than £3k to get it ready to sail back to UK. Things went downhill after 2009 and turnover is much slower and costs much higher. As you can see the Elans for sale in Croatia are 15 years old and now asking prices higher than a privately owned similar boat in the UK.

You are right that a UK boat will need quite a lot of prep, but if you buy right you will be starting with a much better basic boat which you can get sorted at your own speed. Having watched your posts on this subject over the years I suspect you are falling into the trap of overthinking the issues. Too much thinking and not enough doing is why so many such projects stall - just a few more things to do and... next year we will be gone! You will find most likely that when you are actually in a position to buy, have the money, that your outlook will change. Buy the best condition boat you can afford - don't be fussy about getting the ideal - it does not exist - and go for it.