Design number: 221 Year: 2022
It’s nearly 20 years since we developed the hull form for the first of Elan’s Impression line, the 434, and although it was a great foundation for a production run of many well-loved boats, there is no doubt that we have moved on with our own experience and development. So when it came to a completely fresh start for this hub of the Impression fleet we could not ignore the wider advances we have made over these two decades.
The most obvious visual change is the twin rudder arrangement which supersedes the original Impression’s single-rudder configuration. But twin rudders in our case aren’t about cosmetic change - it’s more about the reason for change and what sort of evolution that decision allows. Ever since we started our business, good manners and easy handling characteristics have been paramount in our design philosophy, especially for family cruising yachts. Our single rudders tended to be bigger and deeper than on contemporaneous yachts, and usually our hulls more carefully balanced so that those rudders did not become overloaded. But with our twin rudder evolution, originally brought into the Elan E-fleet , we were keen to enhance the level of control at heel angles and wind pressures where single rudders begin to break the free surface and risk stalling.
So the control aspect is extended significantly, and in turn this allows greater longitudinal asymmetry in hull form, with a slightly finer entry - which promotes easier motion - fairing through to a more powerful, wider afterbody. Not only does this generate increased internal volume aft and enhanced deck and cockpit space but in particular it increases form stability, increasing the yacht’s righting moment for a given displacement and keel weight, and enhancing power in heavier airs. And because performance is generally improved it means accelerated flow over the keel and rudders, further boosting efficiency and reducing leeway.
So the new Impression 43 will represent a major uplift in performance while at the same time enhancing stability and internal volume, in what we would like to think of as a win-win evolution.
