Joker Water Ballasted Trailer Yachts
Joker 6.7
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The Joker 6.7 was designed to satisfy the need for a trailer sailer that could be easily home built and eliminate the deficiencies of other trailer sailer designs. The end result is a boat that, when the first one was launched it was considered quite radical and as a consequence the design was named the Joker class.
The features that makes the Joker different are listed on the home page and it is noted that in recent years other designs have been adopting some of these features in their design. Features like water ballast which makes the boat lighter to tow and the large fully battened mainsail and smaller jib which allows easy handling of the sails, especially for husband and wife teams. The rig has no backstay to get in the way and a roller furler on the jib is recommended as standard. Other aspects like the outboard motor in the cockpit just ahead of the rudder makes using the motor easy and maintains control of the boat at low speeds.
Accommodation for the size of the boat is large due to the full width cabin top and a beam of 2.5 metres ( the maximum for towing on NZ roads). The main hatch hinges at the front so that standing headroom is available when at anchor. Another factor of the design is that it is so easy to rig, launch and retreive. The break-back trailer is positioned so the water level is no closer than four inches below the wheel bearings. It is then a matter of pushing the boat off the trailer into the water. This is easy to do since the boat runs off the trailer under it's own weight (having remembered to attach and hang onto a bow rope). To retrieve, the trailer is again positioned no deeper than for launching, then it is a simple matter of attaching the winch wire to a stainless steel ring at the bow of the Joker and winching it up the trailer. As the boat rises out of the water the water ballast drains from the two built in holding tanks on either side of the boat (having remembered to open the ballast valves first).
The Joker 6.7 was designed to satisfy the need for a trailer sailer that could be easily home built and eliminate the deficiencies of other trailer sailer designs. The end result is a boat that, when the first one was launched it was considered quite radical and as a consequence the design was named the Joker class.
The features that makes the Joker different are listed on the home page and it is noted that in recent years other designs have been adopting some of these features in their design. Features like water ballast which makes the boat lighter to tow and the large fully battened mainsail and smaller jib which allows easy handling of the sails, especially for husband and wife teams. The rig has no backstay to get in the way and a roller furler on the jib is recommended as standard. Other aspects like the outboard motor in the cockpit just ahead of the rudder makes using the motor easy and maintains control of the boat at low speeds.
Accommodation for the size of the boat is large due to the full width cabin top and a beam of 2.5 metres ( the maximum for towing on NZ roads). The main hatch hinges at the front so that standing headroom is available when at anchor. Another factor of the design is that it is so easy to rig, launch and retreive. The break-back trailer is positioned so the water level is no closer than four inches below the wheel bearings. It is then a matter of pushing the boat off the trailer into the water. This is easy to do since the boat runs off the trailer under it's own weight (having remembered to attach and hang onto a bow rope). To retrieve, the trailer is again positioned no deeper than for launching, then it is a simple matter of attaching the winch wire to a stainless steel ring at the bow of the Joker and winching it up the trailer. As the boat rises out of the water the water ballast drains from the two built in holding tanks on either side of the boat (having remembered to open the ballast valves first).
| SPECIFICATIONS | JOKER 6.7 |  |
| LENGTH | 6.7 metres | |
| BEAM | 2.5 metres | |
| TOWING WEIGHT | 1050 Kg | |
| BALLAST | 50 Kg lead 362 Kg water |
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| CONSTRUCTION | Glass on plywood over timber stringers | |
| SAIL AREAS Main | 17.15 m^2 | |
| Jib | 6.59 m^2 | |
| Genoa | 12.39 m^2 | |
| Spinnaker | 38.41 m^2 |
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