First look around the Elan 310

snooks

snooks

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12 Jun 2001
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Me: Surrey Pixie: Solent
www.grahamsnook.com
With the launch of the new website comes the opportunity to see the images from the December's boat test, the Elan 310

We tested her on the Solent in 28 knots of breeze, and she's a flyer!

Sailing off the wind at speeds over 10 knots in full control, she handles like a dream, Rob Humphreys has designed a cracking sailing boat.

To find out what Chris thought of her see the December issue of Yachting Monthly

Full screen 360º interactive saloon shot of the Elan 310 interior
 
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jellyellie said:
Oh no, it's that really ugly one again... I feel sorry for you, Graham. I know how expensive lenses are.
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You might not like her looks, but for the first time in a long time I could justifiably wear the helm hog badge. So responsive without being twitchy, going fast in full control...I would have seriously like to have swung her around 180 degrees and headed to France that day...Very few boats I've been on could I say the same. Averaging well over 8 knots we could have been there in well under 10 hours! And what fun we would have had!

One of the best boats I've sailed...period
 
Twister_Ken said:
Sailing shots look a stop or two underexposed! Were you such a helmhog that someone else had charge of the Box Brownie?
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Me thinks you might want to turn the brightness up on yer monitor, there are a few dark ones, but if they were 2 stops out I'll give you my boat! :D

Needless to say that some might be around 1/2 stop under, but 2? No way

It was a dark, flat 'orrible day, I had to go from ISO 200 (which I don't usually shoot at) to 250, which was correct, so that would make it 1/4 of a stop and that was just as a black rain laden cloud passed over.

Even then I was at 1/500 @ f5.6. In those sort of conditions I don't go below 1/500, unless I'm being arty
 
Can someone explain the appeal of an open transom like that? I get the whole self draining thing but surely it's achievable without missing the back off? Never mind the poor looks, I'd be nervous about slipping/sliding off the back! Maybe it's an adrenalin thinggy?
 
"Can someone explain the appeal of an open transom like that?"

Three thoughts occur.

Maybe the fore and aft trim is very weight sensitive and they don't want to put lockers across the stern which, weighty in themselves, also allow inconsiderate owners to stick all sorts of heavy clobber in there.

Or

They are for these continental Johnnies, who park stern to and like to step ashore without getting their legs over.

Or

It's so they can sell you as an optional extra, and at an inflated price, a transom washboard.
 
This'll upset him!

E310.jpg


Stop and a half adjustment (in PhotoShop, admittedly)

S'all right, you can keep your Sadler!

Stand by for some stuff about calibrated monitors §:-)
 
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Twister_Ken said:
This'll upset him!
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Not at all :)

You forget I shoot for a magazine, If I'd shot at that exposure, the highlights would have blow out at the repro stage. ;)

I tend to shoot a little darker in cloudy conditions because the lighting is so flat, it give me a bit more exposure latitude (or comfort factor), and Steve, the art editor, the opportunity to lighten without loosing highlight detail. It's easier to lighten an image up and lighten details where as if I'd exposed to what you see as "correctly" the highlights would be lacking detail.

So it's better to under expose and capture highlight detail than to over expose and loose it.

If I shoot too light when we're doing the Expert on Board on overcast days, we loose Tom's hair into the sky! :D
 
Twister_Ken said:
This'll upset him!

E310.jpg


Stop and a half adjustment (in PhotoShop, admittedly)

S'all right, you can keep your Sadler!

Stand by for some stuff about calibrated monitors §:-)
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I do not know about photography, but that headsail looks a bit baggy. Seriously though, it sounds like a great boat to sail and if IPC need a second opinion I would love the opportunity!
 
Well the pictures and the forthcoming review might even tempt me to buy the mag
Nice to see a yacht put through a little more than a force 3 to get a feeling of how she handles a bit of weather
 
snooks said:
You might not like her looks, but for the first time in a long time I could justifiably wear the helm hog badge. So responsive without being twitchy, going fast in full control...I would have seriously like to have swung her around 180 degrees and headed to France that day...Very few boats I've been on could I say the same. Averaging well over 8 knots we could have been there in well under 10 hours! And what fun we would have had!

One of the best boats I've sailed...period
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Are we going to be seeing a Sadler up for sale soon then...?

And did you have the kite up at all? Lot of people want to know if it'll really pick up and go in those conditions, or will it just bog down. Could be an absolute IRC weapon if it really flies with the kite up - and the test cert comes true!
 
kingfisher said:
I sailed an Elan a few years ago in Croatia. With any serious gust that thing would round up in the wind, even with me full lock on the steering wheel. And I'm used to a half tonner with semi long keel that just digs in and speeds up with gusts. So no Elan for me, thanks.
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A 37 by any chance?

They do punish bad trim, and bad helming, that's for sure....
 
I sailed an Elan a few years ago in Croatia. With any serious gust that thing would round up in the wind, even with me full lock on the steering wheel. And I'm used to a half tonner with semi long keel that just digs in and speeds up with gusts. So no Elan for me, thanks.
 
flaming said:
Are we going to be seeing a Sadler up for sale soon then...?

And did you have the kite up at all? Lot of people want to know if it'll really pick up and go in those conditions, or will it just bog down. Could be an absolute IRC weapon if it really flies with the kite up - and the test cert comes true!
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We bought Pixie (our Sadler 32) for the long term...think tortoise and hare (or hairy!!)!

Discretion being the better part of valour and all that, they felt that with 26 knot gusts rolling through ever few minutes (bramblemet from the day from 15:30 onwards) our readers wouldn't be getting the bag up, so neither would they, and rather than risk breaking anything they just sailed with white (or grey) sails.

Besides how much more faster than 10 knots do you want to go?

The speedo rarely went below 8 knots! Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!:D
 
snooks said:
our readers wouldn't be getting the bag up, so neither would they
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Guess I'll have to wait for the Yachting World review then.

I assume they had taken the boat out first thing, with PBO at lunchtime...?

Just kidding.....
 
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