Design and Construction
Greg Elliott drew the 5.9 at 5.9 meters precisely to satisfy the NZ Trailer Yacht Association limits for boats under six meters, and the first examples were wooden hulls he built himself in the early 80s anchor. Once the fleet moved to fiberglass the numbers expanded quickly, and today's molded hulls are taken directly from the plug of an original wooden boat, so the shape and cabin top have not changed since the 1980s. With a lead ballast of 551 pounds in a 1,323-pound displacement and a lifting keel giving 4 feet 3 inches of maximum draft, the boat is a true trailer yacht meant to be towed behind a modest car to sailing events across New Zealand.
Rig and Handling
The 5.9 carries an efficient single-spreader fractional rig with a well-balanced sail plan over 265 square feet of area, and a crew of three sails her. That combination, on a hull with a displacement-length ratio of 95.28 and a sail-area-displacement ratio of 35.18, explains why the design emerged as a high-performing trailer yacht and why the one-design fleet is regarded as among the fiercest in New Zealand. She took the 1983 Trailer Yacht National Championships.
Accommodations and Deck Layout
The boat has a practical deck layout suited to a three-person crew working the fractional rig. The cabin top shape is unchanged since the 1980s, and the class has remained a low-maintenance sailboat by virtue of that straightforward layout and rig.
Known Issues and Modifications
The design has seen only a few minor modifications since the 1980s, the most notable being a relocated mainsheet traveler and the sealing off of the outboard well. Neither change altered the hull or cabin-top shape. The outboard-well sealing marks a step from the original open well toward a drier cockpit arrangement.
Refits and Ownership
Owners benefit from a one-design class structure, the Elliott 5.9 Traveller Series. Because the actual shape has not changed, a wooden early boat and a modern fiberglass hull share the same hull lines, and the modest car-towing brief makes storage and transport unusually easy for a keelboat of this length.
The Verdict
The Elliott 5.9 is a purpose-built racer-cruiser trailer yacht that has held its shape and competitive edge for decades. Its restricted origin rule produced a boat that is light, easily trailered, and brutally even in fleet competition.
Pros
- Designed to a strict sub-6-meter rule and towable behind a modest car
- Fiberglass hulls molded from the original wooden boat, preserving the 1980s shape
- Efficient fractional rig and balanced sail plan sailed by a three-person crew
- Fiercely competitive one-design Traveller Series in New Zealand
Cons
- Only minor updates since the 1980s, notably traveler move and outboard-well sealing
- Early wooden boats preceded the fiberglass fleet expansion
