Design and Construction
The GT6’s hull shape is all Humphreys Yacht Design: powerful forward sections, a bluff stem with fixed bowsprit, and wide beam carried right aft, producing a hull and deck cored with closed-cell foam in a polyester laminate with a vinylester skin outside to resist osmosis. Elan was one of the first production yards to employ vacuum infusion, and the GT6 uses Vacuum-Assisted Infusion Lamination (VAIL) for the hull to prevent osmosis and ensure uniform stiffness, lightness and safety, with composite bulkheads made from vacuum-cured resin-impregnated biaxial fabric and all bulkheads laminated to hull and deck to create a stiff unitary structure. The keel grid is fully glassed in as well, and the ballast is lead. What you find in the nooks of lockers and bilges is painted laminate rather than bare fibre or exposed chopstrand mat, and reviewers noted the quality of fixtures and fittings as a step-up from standard production yachts.
Rig and Handling
The rig is relatively conservative and tamed to match the powerful hull. A Selden aluminum mast is positioned forward of the coachroof to leave a completely flush foredeck, and the mainsheet runs on a bridle rather than a traveler, attached midway along the boom and kept well out of the cockpit and led aft each side, with no option for a traveler at all. The boat carries a proper working jib, a slightly overlapping 100 percent blade as standard, and the running rigging is tunnelled neatly under deck, with a pair of winches each side within reach of the helm and the aft winch set into the deck a little for optimum sheet lead. Under sail, test sailors found her neutral and very grippy at the helm; in just 8 knots of breeze they could point up to a 38-degree apparent wind angle making good 5.5 knots, and when the wind piped up to 13 knots they scooched up a bit higher and added 2 knots of speed, while still keeping 5.5 knots on a broad reach in just 10 knots of true wind. Twin rudders provide exceptional control and reduce the tendency to broach, and with those rudders the boat turns full about in its own length, with backing-down steering smooth and predictable once moving. Under power, the standard 60hp Volvo Penta diesel with saildrive moved the test boat along at around 7 knots at a cruise setting of about 2,200 rpm.
Accommodations
The raised coachroof forms a deck-saloon yacht offering a far brighter and more spacious interior than an ordinary yacht. A two-cabin layout is offered as standard with a master stateroom forward featuring an island double berth, an en suite head and separate shower space, and rising sheer and forward freeboard creating up to 6ft headroom in that master cabin. The test boat came with twin staterooms aft, though the boat can be specced with a single aft stateroom to port and a workshop or storage space to starboard; the aft cabins have narrow doorways but spacious, beamy double berths with seated headroom outboard beside the hull windows. The galley is forward and right on top of the keel where motion is most comfortable, positioned athwartships and amidships in the area of least pitching, with cooking and refrigeration in a U-shaped section to port and extra stowage around a double sink to starboard. There is no dedicated navstation; instead a convertible arrangement hinges the seat back to reveal a chart table without moving cushions, with a SiMarine touchscreen above in a brushed aluminium switchboard. Both heads have separate showers, though the aft head is narrow and the freestanding egg-shaped sinks are annoyingly small.
Equipment and Cockpit
The standard configuration includes a full synthetic teak deck and a fixed carbon bowsprit that enables sailing deeper downwind with an asymmetric gennaker or code sail. Jefa twin-wheel steering is fitted, with quadrants mounted on each stock linked by a rod and designed to double as emergency steering — if one side is lost you disconnect it and use the other independently, with access to quadrants and autopilot from the aft cabins. There is an option of a closed and covered cockpit to protect the crew from the elements, while the open transom and fold-down transom abaft the wheels allow easy water access. A large liferaft locker sits below the central cockpit sole, a sail locker is in the bows, and a locker beneath the aft deck can house a deflated inflatable; the aft benches can optionally house a grill and fridge instead of lockers.
Known Issues and Ownership Notes
One structural caveat is that there is no watertight bulkhead to separate the steering gear from the accommodation, though bulkheads are all laminated to hull and deck anyway. The aft heads are narrow and the heads’ egg-shaped sinks are small enough to annoy in daily use. Engine access is good from three sides, and the boat’s lead ballast, vacuum-infused build, and fully glassed structure speak to a straightforward ownership profile.
The Verdict
The GT6 is a thoughtfully resolved flagship that pairs a genuinely performance-minded Humphreys hull with a Porsche-styled deck-saloon interior, delivering bright accommodations and assured handling without resorting to a race-bred rig. It is a boat built to be lived aboard and sailed hard, with real attention to structural unification and finish detail.
Pros
- Powerful Humphreys hull with wide beam carried aft and twin rudders that turn the boat in its own length
- Bright deck-saloon interior with up to 6ft headroom forward and a galley placed in the area of least pitching
- Vacuum-infused, fully glassed structure with painted bilges and a fixture quality step above standard production
- Convertible navstation and clever cockpit storage, including a liferaft locker and optional grill/fridge benches
Cons
- No watertight bulkhead between steering gear and accommodation
- Aft head is narrow and the egg-shaped sinks in both heads are annoyingly small
- No traveler option; mainsheet bridle only, which some sailors may miss for fine-tuning
