It's quick, solidly built, incredibly stable and forgiving, and easier to rig than a Laser. When it comes to the fun meter, the Wētā has it pegged.
Sailing World
The Boat
A robust and versatile trimaran
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It's quick, solidly built, incredibly stable and forgiving, and easier to rig than a Laser. When it comes to the fun meter, the Wētā has it pegged.
Sailing World
The Laser and the Hobie have always been seen as the worlds all purpose recreation boats. Having sailed the Wētā I can see that these guys have incorporated all the strong characteristics of both. A high performance boat, it is exciting, forgiving and easy to sail, while being simple and compact.
Mike Bullôt - Double World Champion, Olympic Laser Sailor
New Zealand
It's put an ear to ear grin on my face every single day since I've come back from the games. I look at this thing and I go it's 30 knots, it's 5 knots, whatever it is I'm going out there just to have so much fun.
Chris Sharp - Paralympic Sailor
New Zealand
"The Wētā is faster than the roto-moulded resort Hobies. It is almost, but not quite as fast as the venerable H16. The Nacras and A-Cats will crush it, but when the wind pipes up and those boats are capsizing or their owners are hiding on the beach in the fetal position, the Wētā owners are Gennaker reaching with big smiles on their faces. Beach Cat sailing is on the edge, white knuckled thrill riding. Wētā sailing is much more relaxed but can still be quite thrilling. Locally, in the typical 14 kts to 18 kts afternoon breezes I am regularly able to do 14+ knots, occassionally getting up to 16. My PR Max speed is 18 kts. But most fun of all, the Wētā surfs really well."
Bob Shirley
Wētā #147 "Empress"
Ventura CA.
I took delivery of my new Wētā from Dick this past weekend in Cedar Key and had a chance to take her out for her first sail while there, I am so thrilled with the boat!
Prior to that weekend, Randy and I had a great adventure! We had each borrowed a Weta (I used Cliff's boat and Randy sailed Mike Meade's boat) and sailed from Fort Walton Beach to Panama City with the intention of catching up with our Fort Walton Yacht Club spring cruise. What would have been about a 60 mile trip turned into 115 miles and 27 hours of non-stop sailing in the Gulf of Mexico.
The wind was 15-20 knots with higher gusts, but the direction was not as predicted, so we had to tack a lot. The seas built to 4-7 feet with occasional breakers and there was a very strong current against us. We found the boat handles these conditions very well with the main alone as it would have been very risky to try to take down a jib at night. With modifications, that process will be much safer and easier in the future. We both had dry suits on and all kinds of safety gear, so the main goal was to press on and avoid capsizing.
As we arrived in Panama City, we sat through an hour of squalls with heavy rain and in one case 40kts of wind. In the flat water of the bay, we were able to feather into the wind with little drama. The boat really responds well to the rudder. Needless to say, we were tired, but elated to arrive safely. I have to say, these are tough little boats! This experience gave me a huge boost in confidence in the boat for the Everglades Challenge! What an amazing training opportunity...I'm stoked!!
Thanks very much for the sponsorship! That makes a world of difference. We'll be tweaking things here and there and will keep you posted.
Linda Wright
Wētā #940 "Widget"
Florida
"We've had a range of conditions (light to moderate on Friday, 12-17 on Saturday, light than breezy on Sunday) and the boat is terrific. (My wife's quote when out in 15-17 knots was "Why didn't you buy this years ago?") I'm delighted with the Wētā."
Steve
Wētā #873
“My personal endorsement of the Wētā is that it provides the thrills of a beach cat or racing skiff w/o the need for trapezing or the worry about capsizing”
Bob
USA
“It zips. I’ve hit 16 knots on the gps in flat water – there’s more potential as I’m still figuring out how to get the best performance. It’ll sail all day at 12-14 in 15 knots of breeze on a deep reach. "
Greg
USA
“ The construction is great, performance designed and quality materials—has withstood a few unplanned parking misadventures.”
Bruce
USA
“As a quality manager, I am a difficult customer to please, as I tend to inspect to the nth degree.... However...... Having spent the last few hours opening, inspecting and generally crawling all over the Wētā - I cannot find a single thing to fault it, nothing!”
Robert
Dubai
One thing that makes the Wētā so attractive as a small trimaran model is its versatility. This little tri offers outstanding performance for the single sailor, an exciting ride for a couple, and a nice safe ride for a family with little children … all rolled into one little sailboat.
Joe Farinaccio (aka SmallTriGuy)
