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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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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] 

  Wētā North America​

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Wētā Class North America The Class Association of the Wētā Trimaran

Sailors across North America are excited about the Wētā Trimaran.

Whether racing or day sailing, Wētā Trimaran’s popularity continues to grow.

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SOCIAL  SAILING

Many sailors like to sail the Wētā JUST FOR FUN

The versitility of Wētā makes it perfect for individuals, couples or families

Any time a group of Wētā sailors gather, we call it a SWARM!

Many SWARMs are scheduled throughout the year

Wētā sailors are competitive. 

Racing opportunities for every skill level be it beginner or seasoned competitor.

Champion sailors from many other one-design fleets have moved to the Wētā.

Local sailing clubs host seasonal series racing.

Regional championship regattas and invitational regattas are well attended.

SANCTIONED RACING EVENTS

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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 .

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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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Weta 4.4 Trimaran Complete

$ 17,332.00

Description

Additional information.

New foam core Weta, ready to sail. Hull color options are White, or Grey. For any different colors or designs we can suggest wrapping the boat.  Includes custom trolley with standard 8″ beach wheels, 8.3SqM pin-head or 9.3 SqM square top mainsail, standard jib, standard gennaker (red, blue, yellow, black, Orange, or Custom).

• Larger 9.3 Sq. meter Square Top Mainsail (Better for winds up to 25 knots and sailing 2-up)
• Self-tacking jib kit (White or to match hull color if ordered with boat)
• Twin Tiller Extension Kit (additional tiller and retention shock-cord system)
• Boat Cover (Standard Waterproof or High UV Resistant)

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“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 Weta 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 Weta 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 Weta is the perfect boat. Deliberately crafted for stability and versatility, the Weta 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 Weta is exhilaration. Everyone loves to go fast! An excellent sea boat, a Weta is built for speed. And it’s built from lightweight, high tech materials, meaning a Weta 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 Weta was to build it from materials that were robust, but lightweight, so that a Weta 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 Weta a breeze!

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.

Copyright © 2021 Starboard Tack Sailboats LLC. All rights reserved

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Sailing magazine – weta review.

June 07th, 2010

A quick but stable little trimaran that will thrill families and hardcore racers alike

The name weta refers to a family of large insects in the New Zealand Archipelago. Roughly translated, weta means "God of ugly things." 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, Sweden, the Netherlands and China, drumming up a strong following at every stop.

Multihull sailing has come a long way since Woody Brown's first Hawaiian catamarans of the 1950s. Those early boats were based on ancient Polynesian outrigger designs, but their speed and grace in a variety of situations captured the imagination of a couple of young surfers named Hobie Alter and Phil Edwards. That partnership created the Hobie Cat and the rest is history.

That first 14-foot Hobie Cat has inspired generation after generation of new boat designers. While the basics of the catamaran have remained the same, a multitude of advancements and alterations have ensued, all in search of a better formula for speed, excitement, ease of transport and comfort. That simple quotient could not be more clearly defined or more successfully marketed than in the Weta. This light and responsive trimaran with collapsible amas just might be what the boating market needs.

Last spring, a demonstration of the Weta was held on a beach near the Mission Bay Yacht Club on an overcast but gusty day in San Diego. As a storm blew through, it crossed my mind that this was anything but the right day to try what I anticipated would be a flimsy, high-tech, wet boat. When I pulled up there were people lining the shore to get a glimpse of this unusual-looking craft. There were multihull racers, Laser sailors, big boat veterans and young fathers looking for something the entire family could enjoy.

The one-design racers confirmed the Weta to be responsive in a variety of conditions, while the big-boat sailors were impressed their body weight in 20 knots of wind did nothing to deter the boat's performance. Perhaps the best response, however, came from 9-year-old Andrew Fleming, who summed up the adventure succinctly: "If this were a report card, I'd give it an A-plus."

Andrew's father was no less impressed. "I've sailed one-designs for most of my life," said Bruce Fleming. "Then my kids came along and I gave up sailing. The Weta is exactly what I've been looking for-a boat that is small and responsive, and that I can singlehand, but also a boat my entire family can sail and enjoy."

Fleming's description was spot on. This is a boat that can make the hair on the back of your neck stand up in certain conditions, and yet it's a stable enough platform for the entire family to enjoy. The Weta can carry three adults with ease. Of course, the power-to-weight ratio is reduced under such a load, but in a breeze she still gets up and goes.

At the same time Weta was holding its trials, the San Diego NOOD Regatta cancelled racing when a vicious weather front blew across the course. For a time winds were gusting at 30 knots. This didn't deter Simon Garland and Jeff Westbrook, big-boat sailors eager to try the Weta. They figured they would easily handle the small boat. As they sailed around Mission Bay it didn't take long for them to trim aft in the cockpit and grow competent in setting the reaching jib, called the "screecher." Even though both men were six feet tall, with a combined weight of 400 pounds, the Weta managed to get a hull out of the water several times.

The boat is very forgiving and actually very difficult to capsize, but it can happen. Garland and Westbrook were surprised by a gust and lost the boat at one point, finding themselves in the water and struggling to right an unfamiliar boat. Unlike the Hobie, Prindle and other larger multihulls, the Weta has a no-nonsense process for righting the trimaran that a child could execute. Even a turtled Weta won't give most sailors too much trouble.

The system is simple: Stand on one of the outer pontoons and unscrew the inspection port at the back of the hull until it fills with water. The sinking pontoon will turn the boat over. As you sail away the water drains from the outer hull. Unfortunately, the backing plate doesn't float, and when you right a boat like this in a stiff breeze, you really don't want to have an inspection port lid in your hand. Fortunately the designers have addressed this problem by attaching a retaining line to the cover. Problem solved.

Garland and Westbrook were not deterred. "She's very touchy, very responsive," Westbrook said. "What we noticed was that she really took. We had a variety of wind conditions out there today and the boat was marvelous in every one of them. Our problem was that we were really pushing her when we were surprised by a pretty big gust. We were going to weather and had the mainsheet too tight. The leeward hull started to sink and over we went, very slowly.

"Sensitive? Yes, and especially in winds like we had today, but we really enjoyed sailing her. The little trimaran has the feel of a real boat. When you consider our combined weight, the wind, and how hard we pushed her today it's pretty amazing that we didn't break anything. That says a lot about a boat."

The day before the storm blew through I had the chance to sail the Weta in lighter air. I, too, found the boat to be extremely responsive; able to accelerate rapidly and sharp in the turns. Being able to lie out on the hiking aprons gives you a chance to really appreciate the shape of your sails, and the forward daggerboard makes all the difference in the world. While all multihulls seem to want to break the sound barrier off the wind, most are slow and cumbersome in tacks. The Weta turns on a dime. How refreshing that is to discover. The daggerboard can be pulled up for downwind sailing or beaching the boat, and the kick-up rudder allows for smooth beach assaults.

One problem I encountered was a wrapping of the small staysail when jibing. In the end I determined it was the rookie reviewer driving the boat, and not a gear malfunction. I was releasing the jib too late. A little practice and a forgiving breeze improved my timing rapidly.

The cockpit is smartly designed with lots of room and an open transom. The tiller is long, allowing the driver to work the front of the boat. As Garland and Westbrook discovered, in a good blow, and with excessive weight in the boat, you need to move aft to trim the load. The boomless main is extremely comfortable to use in all conditions. The fully battened jib carries a great shape. The roller furling screecher has a welcome demystifying effect on whoever is driving the boat. Surprisingly, it was very simple to use.

It's really hard to find fault with this compact little racer. It sails fast without a lot of drama or preparation in the cockpit. Yes, it could find a future as a popular one-design but I predict the real audience will be flat-water sailors (lakes and bays) and families. This is a powerful little boat, and yet, even in a good blow the sails are quiet and sail area can be reduced to make the boat more manageable.

The Weta only takes 20 minutes to rig and has just five lines controlling all three sails. The two-piece mast is easy to step, and an optional pivoting mast base allows the mast to be simply folded down instead of unstepped. The outer hulls fold inward on hinged amas, nesting and tucking to make a trailerable load no wider than a Laser-a plus on the road and in storing out of the water.

The Weta really is an incredibly fun boat in most any wind. It sails like a dinghy and is very well balanced. One person described it as a dinghy with training wheels. Not a flattering description, but visually it gets the point across. I had a chance to sail alongside Lasers and pocket cruisers. I gave them both good leads and then made my move. There is an ageless thrill that comes with having a faster boat. There was no contest in the light air of Mission Bay, and a couple of times I actually fell backwards as the boat accelerated.

The Weta hulls are a solid fiberglass laminate. A foam sandwich laminate is used on the main deck for added strength. All the boat's components are vacuum bagged (even the frames) and vinylester resin is used to enhance strength and rigidity. The mast, beams and tiller extension are carbon fiber. The deck gear is mostly Harken. As stated, the boat is smartly rigged although some sailors are modifying the cockpit with ratchet blocks, swivel cleats and stainless bridles.

The sails are by Gaastra, and the main and jib are made from transparent laminated Mylar cloth, which makes it easy to see leeward traffic. The screecher is made from a high-quality, non-stretch spinnaker cloth and comes in a variety of colors.

The Weta measures in at 14 feet, 5 inches in length, and 11 feet, 6 inches in the beam fully extended. On the trailer it's an entirely different story, as the boat tucks into 5 feet, 7 inches. The total dry weight of the boat is 211 pounds with a mast weight of 9 pounds. The Weta can carry 440 pounds and has been clocked at 18.6 mph. There is 123 square feet of area in the main and jib, and 86 more square feet in the screecher. This boat will add a fresh new dimension to sailing for a variety of sailors.

Weta Trimarans

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