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Weta Trimaran
“Life’s better with a Weta” they say! The Weta is a fun, fast and easy Trimaran that appeals to sailors of all ages and abilities.
10 reasons to love sailing your Weta!
- Incredible stability
- High performance – speed up to 20 knots
- Simple rig – no boom
- Versatility – sail solo or together
- Lightweight yet robust
- Compact storage
- No abs of steel required
- Rig and launch by yourself in 20 minutes
- Proven New Zealand design
- Capsize resistant and easy to recover
The fun bit – getting out and fast on the water – is easy, too, with the boat designed for ease of handling whether you’re a seasoned skipper or an enthusiastic novice. The three-sail design, boomless rig and minimum control lines mean you can make the most of the wind single-handedly, and even with the family on board, you can tack like a monohull but speed like a multihull, with absolute ease.
And when you’ve had all the fun you can take, everything packs down quickly and easily and stores on a surprisingly small footprint.
SAILING FOR EVERYONE Unlike other dinghies, the Weta is the boat everyone can use – in almost any conditions – all in one compact, easy package.
READY TO SAIL The Weta comes with everything you need to go sailing – three sails, custom aluminum beach trolley, sail bags, carbon rudder stock, carbon foils and custom foil bag.
COMPACT DESIGN The Weta packs down to the footprint of a Laser on a custom fit, lightweight beach trolley.
FAST AND EASY SETUP Lightweight and simple, rig and launch by yourself in 20 minutes.
ONE DESIGN CLASS Weta has an active strong base of racing fleets across the world.
CUSTOM HULL COLOURS Stand out from the crowd with a custom color options.
SAILS FOR EVERY WIND STRENGTH Redesigned by Norths in 2017, the bi-radial cut mainsails provide manageable high performance in all conditions. The Standard 8.3sqm Sail is great for beginners or strong winds. The Square Top (SQ) 9.3sqm Sail gives more speed in light winds and effortless power up to 20 knots.
UNCOMPLICATED DECK LAYOUT Screecher furler cleat on cockpit side, swaged stays, Liros ropes and optional hiking strap.
NO FITNESS FANATICS REQUIRED In most dinghies you quickly get tired when the wind gets up, but the Weta is comfortable to sail in nearly all conditions, whatever your ability or mobility.
SLEEK FLOATS With a vertical join, the clean look float has strong internal construction. Killwell carbon beams enable a precision fit with the main hull.
NORTH SAILS Proven quality, worldwide service.
PRECISION CENTRECASE Xtreme Sailing Products have 20+ years experience building quality sailboats, including the F18, 29er, 420 and Taser.
DRY HATCHES Quality Nairn hatches for a tight seal.
CUSTOM BLOCKS Captive carbon pads with Ronstan blocks for better trampoline alignment.
ROBUST RUDDER BAR & GUDGEONS Engineered for strength and durability.
SPECIFICATIONS
| 14’5″ / 4.4m | |
| 11’6″ / 3.5m | |
| 5’7″ / 1.7m | |
| Fibreglass / Foam | |
| Hull128lb / 58kg | |
| 40lb / 17.5kg | |
| 89sq ft / 8.3sq m | |
| 34sq ft / 3.2sq m | |
| 86sq ft / 8.0sq m | |
| Carbon | |
| Carbon two Piece | |
| Carbon | |
| FoilCarbon | |
| Carbon | |
| Ronstan | |
| North Sails | |
| Carbon | |
| Weta Design Team & TC Design |
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Compact Weta Trimaran Screeches Past the Big Boys on Biscayne Bay
Mini-multihull with aerospace-like attention to detail fills niche of high-performance day sailor.
The new Weta trimaran is designed in New Zealand, built in China, and imported into the U.S. by Nor Banks Sailing of Duck, N.C.
Photo by Billy Black
When it comes to the pure love of sailing, its hard to beat a small, light efficient boat whose sole mission is to harness the wind rather than provide a home afloat. And now that Hobie and others are moving toward heavy, flexible, roto-molded plastic, and lower performance “beach boats,” its no surprise that a new mini-multihull has come along to fill the niche.
During the few days immediately following the Miami Boat Show in February, Biscayne Bay, Fla., becomes a multihull playground where shallow-draft cats and tris strut their stuff. In a David-and-Goliath replay, the 14-foot-6-inch long Weta trimaran streaked like an agile mouse amidst a herd of elephants. The big cruising cats certainly offer sumptuous accommodations, but they lumbered in the fickle 10- to 12-knot breeze that touched down and lifted off the bays green water. At the same time, the Weta 4.4 scooted off on double-digit reaches, accelerating with each puff, and ghosted through the lulls. If enjoying an active sailing experience on Miamis aquatic frontyard was the plan of the day, the Weta won hands-down.
Conceived in New Zealand by father-and-son team Roger and Chris Kitchen, and designed with collaborative help from a handful of experienced sailors, this elegantly simple and finely built boat is a glowing example of mission accomplished. The company principals, an ex-mathematics teacher and his highly skilled Laser-racing son, bridged both a generation and engineering gap, and came up with the performance boat both had envisioned. The big challenge, however, was in creating a cost-effective boat with the strength-to-weight ratio needed for performance sailing. And a good part of the Wetas challenge was to mate an efficient design concept with the careful use of high-tech and mainstream materials along with exacting composite boatbuilding techniques.
Construction
A carbon-fiber and E-glass tubular framework connects the outer amas to the hull and successfully spreads rig and hull loads. The mast and sprit are also made of carbon fiber, but the light, stiff hull structure, daggerboard, and rudder are built using less-costly E-glass and Divinycell foam. Wetas key to fabrication success stems from the builders aerospace-like attention to detail. Vacuum-bagging and strict resin control results in the elimination of resin puddling and sloppy glasswork in hard-to-get-at areas, and offers excellent weight control. The 220-pound boat is as lean and fat free as a long-distance runner, yet retains the strength and stiffness needed in a high-performance sailboat. These boats are built in China, and they represent a new trend in Asian boatbuilding, an industry once known only for thick, resin-rich laminates and carved teak trailboards.
The deck layout and hardware selection make absolute sense, and show the value of continual input from accomplished small-boat sailors. Not only is there sensible layout of the sheet leads, cleats, and control lines, but all the gear works from either inboard or outboard hiking locations. When you first climb aboard the trimaran, youll find that theres plenty of room for two seated on the comfortable side deck of the main hull, and theres even room for big feet and the mainsheet tail in the full-length cockpit well. Sitting out to windward on the canvas trampoline, the tiller extension and sheet leads make sail trimming and screacher control a snap. Its hard to make a small boat really roomy, but the Wetas wide canvas side deck extension and main hull create plenty of room for a couple and a cooler.
Photo by Ralph Naranjo
The success of this pocket-sized trimaran also stems from its sailplan, a triple threat of main, jib, and easy-handling, furling screacher. The boomless mainsail, made by windsurfer sailmaker Gaastra, incorporates five full tubular battens that control draft and allow the mainsheet to be attached to a well-reinforced clew rather than a conventional boom. Its sculpted foot allows a crew to easily duck under during tacks but still keeps sail area maximized. Gaastra transferred quite a bit of its “go fast” sail shaping into the sailplan, including light tubular batten technology and X-ply and monofilm sail material. The high-tech Gaastra sail package, like the Harken hardware and carbon sprit and mast are all standard, and the result is a package primed for performance.
The upwind sailplan is that of a classic multihull with a big main (75 square feet) and small jib (23 square feet) providing enough drive to make ghosting in light air more than a possibility. Thanks to this efficient sailplan, tight sheeting angle, and a foil-shaped daggerboard, the boat points quite well-more like a one-design dinghy than a multihull. Steer a little wider and the roller furled “screacher” can add a virtual turbo boost. This 60-square-foot gennaker deploys like any roller furler but is trimmed via a single sheet led through both port and starboard leads. As a result, there is much less line to cope with and no sheet tails to drag in the water. To date, the top recorded speed has been 16.5 knots.
The ride is both exhilarating and responsive, sort of like sit-down windsurfing, lots of speed but fewer gymnastics. The helm is fingertip light, and the boats responsiveness takes a little getting used to in order to avoid oversteering. The slight up angle of the amas keeps the windward ama out of the water most of the time, reducing drag. Spray flies, and the boats proximity to the waters surface delivers an enhanced sensation of speed. In a way, it makes sailing more of a contact sport, best suited for warm water and sunny skies. Extending the sailing season means a commitment to good drysuit or wetsuit technology.
Putting the boat away is expedited by the handy beach dolly that comes as a standard component of the new boat. It captures the main hull and locks it in place for quick de-rigging or beach storage. It also eliminates the tendency to scar the hulls by dragging them up and down the beach. Rigging, and its end-of-session reversal, takes less than 20 minutes. This includes assembling the amas and hull, stepping the mast and sprit, and setting the sails. The boats user-friendliness is a tribute to the designers. Whether or not you enjoy multihull sailing, its hard not to give high marks to a well-thought-out sailboat.
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Weta Trimaran Best Dinghy
- By Dave Reed
- Updated: January 27, 2010
Weta BOTY 368
It happens every year with BOTY: one of the smaller boats in the lineup reminds the judges of the pure exhilaration of fast, small-boat sailing. This year, that boat was the Weta Trimaran, which gave the J/95 a serious run for the overall title. If there’s one boat that will get any sailor excited about multihull sailing, and small-boat sailing in general, it’s this New Zealand import. It’s quick, solidly built, incredibly stable and forgiving, and easier to rig than a Laser. When it comes to the fun meter, the Weta has it pegged.
On hand in Annapolis for the pre-sail briefing was the Weta’s creator, New Zealander Chris Kitchen, who enlightened the judges on the long, grueling development of his 14-foot trimaran, a project that he and his father started in their garage back in 2003. We’re thankful for their dogged persistence.
There are now more than 300 Wetas sailing, approximately 75 of which are in the United States. Once the judges got their hands on the yellow boat come test day, they quickly understood why: “It’s really well built, but the best thing about this boat was sailing it,” said Holby. “If I could have taken out any of the other boats again, this would have been the one.” To get his turn on the Weta, though, he had to pry it out of the hands of Allen, who was first to beach launch and quickly disappeared out of sight, tearing across the Chesapeake Bay under main, jib, and screecher.
Trimarans are unique sailing craft, which have characteristics that take getting used to: in high winds, pitchpoling and hobby-horsing can be problematic, but all the judges confirmed the Weta had no such tendencies in the short chop and 20-knot gusts.
“The thing goes like it’s on rails,” said Allen.
Because of the Weta’s prolonged development, the boat is highly refined in terms of its setup and sail-control systems. The judges got it off its trailer (mostly dissembled), rigged, and were sailing in less than 20 minutes. The floats (with carbon frames) slot into reinforced holes in the main hull, and simple tensioning lines lock them in (as does the rig when the shrouds are attached). Once they stepped the 9-pound carbon rig, lashed the screecher to the carbon sprit, raised the sails (with external halyards), dropped in the carbon kick-up rudder, and ran the sheets, they were off and blazing. An International 14-type tinkerer’s boat this is not; it’s a sail-it-out-of-the-box, one-design gem.
One example of its versatility is the ability to adjust the sailplan for the desired use. Too much breeze? Go the main alone. The judges sailed the boat with and without the jib, and neither configuration disappointed. In fact, nothing about the Weta disappointed, except, of course, having to hand it back.
Judges’ P.O.V. • The most fun boat of the week • Easy set up • Quality construction
Test conditions: 15 to 20 knots, steep chop Recommended use: One-design racing, day sailing Recommended race crew: 1 to 2 (440 lbs. capacity) Stats: LOA 14’5″ Beam 11’6″ DSPL 275 lbs. SA (u/d) 124/334 sq.ft. Price: $10,995 (includes custom trailer and dolly combination) Contact: www.wetamarine.com
View our photo gallery of the Weta underway here .
- More: Boat of the Year , BOTY , Multihull , Sailboats , sailing news , Trimaran , Weta
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Wētā Australia – Life's Better with a Weta
Book a FREE test sail today!
Make Life Better – Get a Wētā
Unlike other dinghies, the Wētā is the boat everyone can use – in any conditions – all in the one compact, easy package:
- Take it out for a blast on your own and enjoy the stable speed
- Appreciate the stability when taking out family and friends for fun
- Safe for kids or adults to learn to sail
The Wētā is the “all fun, no-drama” boat – the stability of a trimaran means its really hard to capsize but easy to right in minutes if you do – without any assistance.
And with the new Self-Tacking Jib and Twin Tiller Extensions providing “hands-free” tacks and gybes, it’s now even easier to sail.
“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)
The Wētā Advantages – a sailboat for all reasons
Compact Storage
Sails for every wind strength
Family Friendly
Solo Stable Speed
Self Tacking Jib for Easy Turns
One class design
Fast and easy setup
Speed when you need it
Sailability for All
High Quality
Twin Tiller Extension Kit
Australian Events
Ready to Go The Wētā comes with everything you need to go sailing – hull and floats, all deck fittings and rigging, custom aluminium launching trolley, three North sails (mainsail, jib, gennaker), continuous gennaker furler, colour-coded ropes and sail bags, carbon tiller and extension, carbon foils and custom foil bag. The complete package is $26,990 ready-to sail.
Start sailing your life better – click the button to start your order and choose your options.
There are over 1400 Wētās worldwide and over 300 in Australia. Many are listed on the Wētā World Map below – if you want to contact another owner or add your details, contact [email protected]
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Comparing the windrider 17 to the weta trimaran, comparing the weta trimaran to the windrider 17 trimaran.
We frequently get asked how the WindRider 17 compares to Weta Trimaran, so we decided to make this page to explain how they are similar and dissimilar. We also want to give some of the positives of each boat
Similarities:
1. Both day sailors
2. Both small trimarans (very stable)
That is where the similarities between the two boats end. The WindRider 17 was designed to be a pleasure sailor for anyone to use, whereas the Weta was designed to be a racing sailboat that that was more stable than a small catamaran.
WindRider 17:
1. Rotomolded. This allows the WindRider 17 Trimaran to be used anywhere, anyhow without concern of damaging the hull.
2. Capacity. The WindRider 17 can carry up to 6 people, while Weta is limited to 3.
4. Dryer boat. The trampoline design and bow design ensure that the waves break beneath you, not on you. No need for a dry suit to sail this trimaran.
5. Motor mount option. While heretical to some, a motor can be a godsend when the winds die, when a storm is coming or when the current and wind and everything else are working against you.
6. Versatility. The WindRider 17 has more options, more cargo space, so choose the type of sailing you want to do. Then do it.
7. Price. The base price of the WindRider trimaran is less than that of the Weta.
Weta Trimaran:
1. One class design. Weta has a strong base of racing fleets across the world for those people interested in racing trimarans. If you are looking to race, and looking for a small trimaran, this is a great option.
2. Carbon fiber. The use of carbon fiber for the mast and akas helps lighten the boat.
3. Very compact design. When disassembled, the boat is only 14ft long and 5.5ft wide. This makes it great for people that have very little area for storage.
4. Speed. With 3 sails standard the Weta will be faster on the water than the WindRider.
If you are looking for a boat to race, then the Weta is the better option. However, if you just want more versatility at a lower price point, then the WindRider is your best option.
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Weta Trimaran
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Weta 4.4 Review
‘Wetapunga’ is the Maori name for a New Zealand insect that looks like a cross between a cricket and a cockroach. Jeremy Evans goes sailing on a new trimaran with the same compact body and long legs…
Roger Kitchen and his son Chris built the first Weta prototype in 2003, having commissioned a multihull designer to sketch hull shapes to suit their brief. They wanted to create a new kind of boat for New Zealand which was easy to store, easy to rig, safe and stable, high performance and suitable for all members of a family to enjoy.
Three years and many design changes later, a production line was set up in China where the Weta is built in foam sandwich construction. Sails by Gaastra and the carbon mast, beams and spinnaker pole are also sourced in China, which helps explain the relatively low cost for a boat packed with carbon accessories. The first production Weta was sold in New Zealand in October 2006, followed by sales in China, France, Holland, Sweden, Thailand and the USA, boosting Weta production to 75 boats in its first year.
Design and rigging
Meade Gougeon, USA sailing legend and cofounder of the West System Epoxy, spotted a Weta 4.4 on a Florida beach last autumn and was so impressed that he now sails his own Weta, which is a handsome accolade from a former ‘Boat of the Year’ judge in America.
The Weta does indeed look different from anything else in the boat park. Imagine a cross between a New Zealand insect and a 60ft racing trimaran, scaled down to the size of a 14ft dinghy. It’s no wider than an average dinghy, sitting on its trailer or in the boat park with floats stowed alongside, but nor is it a hassle to double the width of the Weta in trimaran mode. The floats and carbon cross beams weigh 18kg and slide into sockets, where they are secured by tying a bowline and applying tension through a jamming cleat. This takes about a minute for each side and creates a surprisingly rigid platform — there was no obvious flex when powered up on the water.
The carbon mast slides together in two sections and weighs just 6kg, so no problem popping it up or taking it down singlehanded, using the standard method of attaching shrouds and pulling up/down on the forestay. The Gaastra laminate mainsail slides up the luff track easily, though it took us a few minutes to get the knack of locking the halyard at the top of the mast. This is standard multihull procedure, ensuring there is no halyard stretch when you pull on the downhaul to depower the sail. Pulling on the jib halyard provides tension to prevent luff sag, with the ends of the halyards neatly stowed alongside the mast. Complete rig to water time — or vice versa — should be inside 20 minutes with practice.
The Weta feels quite a bit more chunky to push or pull on its trolley than an average singlehanded dinghy. It also might be handy to have a ‘helper’ for trolley retrieval. The Weta won’t blow over, but it will blow sideways if you leave it unattended on the water for too long.
On the water
Our guest testers were Rollo Pyper and Jeremy Pudney. Rollo races an International 14 out of Itchenor SC, so clearly understands the concept of ‘high performance sailing’. Chris Kitchen had stepped in as Rollo’s crew at the International 14 world championship in New Zealand in 2005, and Rollo was keen to discover how the Kitchen family’s Weta concept had progressed from the 2005 prototype. Jeremy Pudney is a former International 14 stalwart who retired gracefully from dangling on 14s a few years ago and created his own Wind Raider custom trimaran — main hull by Phil Morrison, floats and rig from a Hurricane 5.9, big asymmetric off an International 14. He’s now sold that particular Wind Raider, with the intention of downsizing into something smaller, simpler and easier to handle, which can still provide a good enough blast to satisfy a former 14 sailor who has hit 70 years of age.
Rollo commented that the rig of the Weta looked ‘…a bit small’ but he’s clearly accustomed to the outsize rig of an International 14! The Weta rig appears nicely in proportion to the boat. It also delivered the right amount of power for our test session in Force 3-4 winds — like any multihull, the Weta is made for a breeze when the ‘grin factor’ soon kicks in. In less wind, the Weta may have felt a bit draggy, but it’s still a light boat with an easily driven, super-slim main hull, plus the daggerboard should help it point high enough to spar with most dinghies upwind.
When you launch, the Weta is an easy boat to climb on board because it’s so stable and you can get into the cockpit from the open transom or over the low side. The cockpit is roomy, with enough space for a couple of people. Speaking on behalf of older sailors, Jeremy Pudney would have liked more depth to avoid that back-straining ‘knees-up’ attitude, which you get on all shallow bottom boats when sitting on the side of the hull. Whether this is a concern will depend on personal flexibility levels, and becomes irrelevant when you move onto the trampoline from where most Weta sailing will be done.
You need a bit of a push to get on the tramp, but once out you’ve got a great view of the action and can enjoy what the Weta does best: acceleration! When a gust hits, this little boat really takes off. In an average wind speed of 10-15 knots, with one gust up to 20 knots, the Weta flew along but felt stable and easy to handle at all times. And it was quick. I gybed downwind from Itchenor to Hayling Island SC and then beat back again in double quick time.
Upwind, the Weta felt light, responsive and close-winded, although it always pays to sail free and go for speed with a multihull. Tacking on flat water was quick, precise and worry-free. In waves you may need to take more care to ensure the floats don’t stall the Weta mid-way through the turn. Offwind, you unroll the screecher which is a miniaturised version of the big headsail on an Extreme 40 cat or Orma 60 trimaran. I found the roll-out/roll-up worked really well, taking the normal precaution of sailing deep to blanket the screecher. The only way to sail is on the apparent wind. Yank in the mainsheet, cleat it off and forget it’s there, using the screecher to lead the boat downhill — steer upwind to build power, bear away to blast on the apparent wind, then steer upwind to rebuild power.
Unlike a cat there is no mainsheet traveller, and unlike a dinghy there is no kicker or gnav since there is no head-bashing boom. So you rely totally on the mainsheet for leech and foot tension offwind. If the wind is up, this should not be a problem as you can sheet in tight on the apparent wind, even when sailing deep downhill. But in marginal winds, keeping power in the mainsail will clearly be more of a challenge when sailing offwind.
Gybing was easy during our moderate wind test. The screecher flipped neatly round the forestay every time and the floats prevent any chance of the boat heeling right over, but you can run out of hands when it comes to re-sheeting the jib. That helps explain why Weta sailors leave the jib on shore when sailing in stronger winds. As mentioned, the Weta has impressive acceleration when a gust powers up, so just take care you don’t fall off the back of the tramp. If that happened, the Weta would surely leave you behind!
You need to get acclimatised to sitting out on the trampoline and finding a suitable brace position, which is comfortable for all weathers. The Weta is basically trim forgiving — just slide to the front of the rack for beating and back for reaching when the Screecher will tend to lift the bows. It’s clearly not designed for hiking off the side of the rack, which would be painful, with only floppy footstraps providing limited support on the tramp.
During our test session, the Weta never showed any inclination to bury its bows or capsize. What’s more, we didn’t opt for a capsize, knowing that the Weta would invert and probably shove its mast into the shallow muddy bottom of Chichester Harbour. With a fast flowing tide, that would be a potential recipe for a broken carbon mast. If the worst should happen, it’s some consolation that you are only likely to have to replace one half of your carbon mast!
But Wetas can capsize. The Wetamarine website shows some interesting YouTube high wind antics, featuring a Weta blasting in Force 5-6 winds. The main bow and leeward float submarines on several occasions, but the Weta nearly always recovers and carries on sailing. But when the Weta does capsize, it turns almost immediately upside-down. However, a neat technique that has been developed to get it back up again: that involves unscrewing a hatch in the stern of the nearest float and standing on the float so it floods and sinks, which will flip your Weta to the 90-degree capsize position. Then you can pull the Weta upright on the daggerboard in normal dinghy style.
Weta 4.4 review: Verdict
The first ever New Zealand Weta National Championship was held on Lake Taupo last December, and the first ever European Championship will be held at Muiderberg in the Netherlands from September 26-28. That kind of racing would be fun for both singlehanded and multi-handed Weta sailors, but you could also race against dinghies using a Portsmouth club or trial number, or against cats using the Weta’s SCHRS measurement rating.
The Weta looks good with a choice of green, red, yellow or grey hull colours and the all-Chinese construction appears first class, with carbon and foam sandwich ensuring the Weta is a stiff, lightweight performance boat that should provide many years of good service. The rig also looks great, with Gaastra laminate sails providing a seethrough view and flexible carbon mast ensuring the rig is both light and efficient.
Not everything can be perfect. The spinnaker pole does not retract and could be a worry manoeuvring among tightly packed boats. Jeremy Pudney felt the Weta would be easier to handle with two skiff-style tiller extensions, although my view was that you soon get accustomed to flicking the extension across the new side. Both Jeremy and Rollo had problems with the screecher-furling cleat unlocking at inopportune times, while I found the mainsheet cleat a bit of a fiddle since it tends to waggle around. Other improvements could include a mini-traveller for mainsail leech tension, a self-tacking jib to take the fumbling out of tacks and gybes and decent footstraps for better security on the tramps, all of which would add weight, complexity and cost to the boat.
The Weta has plenty going for it as a somewhat unusual, but totally modern ‘family boat.’ For summer blasting, it’s big enough to take young kids for a ride which will surely put a smile on their faces, and fast enough to ensure that adults or teenagers get guaranteed fun. Optimum conditions should be around 12-20 knots. If the wind is lighter, children will be able to handle the boat. If the wind is stronger, experienced sailors will sheet in and hang on for a memorable and possible topsy-turvey blast. Another potential market is sailors with lower body disabilities who have been looking at the Weta 4.4 with interest.
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The Weta is the multipurpose premium multihull for maximum fun
10 reasons to love sailing your Wētā!
• Incredible stability • High performance – speed up to 20 knots • Simple rig – no boom • Versatility – sail solo or together • Lightweight yet robust • Compact storage • No abs of steel required • Rig and launch by yourself in 20 minutes • Proven New Zealand design • Capsize resistant and easy to recover
The Wētā is a very social boat. So while we are serious about design, craftsmanship, and the materials we use, the objective is fun. Even if you’re racing your Wētā in serious competitions, we want to make sure you’re enjoying yourself. And if you want to introduce kids – or anyone – to the joys of sailing, a Wētā is the perfect boat. Deliberately crafted for stability and versatility, the Wētā is easy to sail with the family. The kids feel safe, and they learn the most important thing about sailing: that it’s tons of fun!
One of the greatest feelings when you’re out on the water in a Wētā is exhilaration. Everyone loves to go fast! An excellent sea boat, a Wētā is built for speed. And it’s built from lightweight, high tech materials, meaning a Wētā is sturdy, stable, but light, ensuring even in gentle winds this beautifully balanced and responsive boat can get some sensational speeds up. With a bit of a breeze on you can reach speeds of 20 knots. Now that’s some serious fun.
One of the driving aims when designing the Wētā was to build it from materials that were robust, but lightweight, so that a Wētā could be assembled, sailed and rigged easily by one person. The simple but clever custom beach trolley and 6kg, two-piece mast make moving, launching, rigging and storing a Wētā a piece of cake!
The fun bit – getting out and fast on the water – is easy, too, with the boat designed for ease of handling whether you’re a seasoned skipper or an enthusiastic novice. The three-sail design, boomless rig and minimum control lines mean you can make the most of the wind single-handedly, and even with the family on board, you can tack like a monohull but speed like a multihull, with absolute ease.
And when you’ve had all the fun you can take, everything packs down quickly and easily and stores on a surprisingly small footprint.
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A robust and versatile trimaran. Learn More . Latest News & Events. July 19th, 2024. Blustery Bala - 2 days of Great Dinghy Racing. July 30th, 2024. 85th Annual One Design - Deltaville, VA. August 01st, 2024. East Coast Piers Race - An Event of Two Halves. Wētā Worldwide.
2019 Wētā Trimaran - Fun. Fast. Easy. Sailing for you and your family! ... Mike Bullôt - Double World Champion, New Zealand Olympic Laser Sailor. Reviews. August 2019. KAZI Magazine. March 2015. Boating New Zealand Feature. February 2015. 2015 Weta Owner Review. October 2014. 2014 Weta Owner Review. September 2012. Yachts and Yachting Review ...
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Find Your Local Wētā Trimaran dealer. Wētā Marine Head Office New Zealand [email protected]
10 reasons to love sailing your Wētā!• Incredible stability• High performance - speed up to 20 knots• Simple rig - no boom• Versatility - sail solo or togeth...
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Watch the WETA trimaran in action. Video is shot in the country that gave us the WETA, New Zealand.
The Weta is a fun, fast and easy Trimaran that appeals to sailors of all ages and abilities. 10 reasons to love sailing your Weta! Incredible stability. High performance - speed up to 20 knots. Simple rig - no boom. Versatility - sail solo or together. Lightweight yet robust.
Nothing could be farther from the truth about the insect's namesake, a sexy 14-foot trimaran called the Weta that has been turning heads like crazy. Designed and built by Weta Marine of New Zealand, the Weta made its debut in 2007. Since then this new-kid-on-the-block of small multihull designs has been frequenting boat shows in France, England ...
Finally after a crazy year of lockdowns and uncooperative weather we had a weekend of great sailing despite a tough first day. When you have dedicated Weta s...
10 reasons to love sailing your Wētā! • Incredible stability. • High performance - speed up to 20 knots. • Simple rig - no boom. • Versatility - sail solo or together. • Lightweight yet robust. • Compact storage. • No abs of steel required. • Rig and launch by yourself in 20 minutes.
During the few days immediately following the Miami Boat Show in February, Biscayne Bay, Fla., becomes a multihull playground where shallow-draft cats and tris strut their stuff. In a David-and-Goliath replay, the 14-foot-6-inch long Weta trimaran streaked like an agile mouse amidst a herd of elephants. The big cruising cats certainly offer ...
DSPL 275 lbs. SA (u/d) 124/334 sq.ft. Price: $10,995 (includes custom. trailer and dolly combination) Contact: www.wetamarine.com. View our photo gallery of the Weta underway here. Advertisement ...
The complete package is $26,990 ready-to sail. Start sailing your life better - click the button to start your order and choose your options. There are over 1400 Wētās worldwide and over 300 in Australia. Many are listed on the Wētā World Map below - if you want to contact another owner or add your details, contact [email protected].
Weta Marine, manufacturer of the successful Weta Trimaran, provided me with the opportunity to try out their new and improved Weta Trimaran. ... Weta co-designer from New Zealand, and Richard Hitchcock, Weta Florida Ambassador. The "New Weta," or as I call it, Weta version 3.0, now comes in a plethora of colors, some with white decks for ...
The WindRider 17 was designed to be a pleasure sailor for anyone to use, whereas the Weta was designed to be a racing sailboat that that was more stable than a small catamaran. This allows the WindRider 17 Trimaran to be used anywhere, anyhow without concern of damaging the hull. The WindRider 17 can carry up to 6 people, while Weta is limited ...
Conceived and designed in New Zealand, over 1,300 Weta trimarans have been sold worldwide since it was launched with a splash over 11 years ago. Hand-crafted - this is no "machine-built boat" - the fibreglass/carbon composite construction delivers the perfect pairing of rigidity and lightweight performance. Expertly made for maximum enjoyment and minimum fuss, whether […]
The first production Weta was sold in New Zealand in October 2006, followed by sales in China, France, Holland, Sweden, Thailand and the USA, boosting Weta production to 75 boats in its first year. ... Imagine a cross between a New Zealand insect and a 60ft racing trimaran, scaled down to the size of a 14ft dinghy. It's no wider than an ...
Weta 4.4 Review - Yachts and Yachting Magazine. September 13th, 2012. 'Wetapunga' is the Maori name for a New Zealand insect that looks like a cross between a cricket and a cockroach. Jeremy Evans goes sailing on a new trimaran with the same compact body and long legs…. Roger Kitchen and his son Chris built the first Weta prototype in ...
The Weta is the multipurpose premium multihull for maximum fun. Search Icon. ... • Proven New Zealand design • Capsize resistant and easy to recover. Fun. The Wētā is a very social boat. So while we are serious about design, craftsmanship, and the materials we use, the objective is fun. Even if you're racing your Wētā in serious ...
NZ WetaFest was a ripper!Last weekend Weta owners gathered at the Tauranga YPBC for an action packed weekend.The wind was perfect for the Friday coaching blo...
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Find Your Local Wētā Trimaran dealer. Why Wētā ; The Boat ; Our Story ; Wētā in Action ... Where to Buy; Wētā Owners; News & Events; Reviews; Back. New Zealand. www.wetamarine.com. Address. Weta Marine HQ Campbells Bay, North Shore, Auckland, New Zealand ... Cell: +64 027 624 4237 Ph: +64 9 479 5302 [email protected] Email » Contact ...