Weta Vs H18

This is notably an old thread... but...

In Santa Barbara each year there is a regatta with Hobies and Wetas on the same course, last year we had a group of AI and TIs playing around as well. The H18 smokes the Wetas in moderate to heavy air. It seemed like the light air may have been weighted in their favor. They also seemed a bit more unruly in the surf as the skipper tried to get over the amas and into the cockpit. They did look a bit more fun for the single handed skipper... but then again, so does a trifoiler.

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Tom
Fleet 259, Central Coast CA
H18 ('81)
H18 ('85)
H20 ('97)
H18 ('78)

In this area (sarasota, fl) we probably have the highest concentration if weta's and windrider 17's over pretty much anywhere, at the buzelli event in October there are typically more than 20 windriders, and always at least a half dozen weta's. There is also a lot of TI's here as well, many of our island club get togethers as many as a dozen TI's and adventures show up, we always have a good time. As everyone knows there are no one class rules on the TI so most are modded out to suit what the owners like to do most, which can be literally anything. As an example at the last outing one guy had a hammock on his (way cool). Mine is heavily modified and hardened for offshore with massive sails (265 sq ft) and a motor (soon to be twin engines) specifically for offshore around the keys because that's my thing. Everyone beats to a different drum, and nearly every TI I have seen is modded to suit what the owner likes to do. Most are all out rigged as the ultimate off shore fishing machine ( top boat on the market for that in my opinion). I have yet to see anyone ever trying to fish off any laser, sunfish, weta, or windrider, and almost never do you see anyone fishing off a h16 or h18, but I have seen some do it.
Of course the h16 and f18 type boats rule this area and probably always will.
My favorite pastime is going out in the very light typical winds around here (typically around 5-6 mph) and sailing (actually mostly pedaling) around every boat sitting in irons out in the bay, literally every weekend is the same story most of the year.
Like Matt says there is no time you can't take a TI out wind, no wind, it just doesn't matter. Plus it can be loaded to the hilt with gear and people and still get you to your destination. It's the true and only family SUV boat on the market today in my opinion. I wouldn't trade mine for anything (you would have to pry it from my dead gloves (lol). But everyone beats to a different drum.
Bob

Every boat has its pros and cons - the all around perfect boat hasn't been built and isn't likely to ever be. And each boat has its operational "sweet spot" (The WindRider probably having the widest range, being able to handle 5MPH to 50MPH winds and rolling seas, but that's another story.) The AI and TI's are more than just sailboats. And for that reason persons wanting just a sailboat, may not be overly impressed. Now if you're fishing, snorkling, camping, etc., then they're tough to beat.

The Weta was never marketed as an H18 beater - nowhere on their website does it claim to be. Heck, it's a 14 footer with only 210 sq. ft. of sail (that's all three sails). The H18 is an 18 footer with 250 sq. ft. of sail, and a mast that reaches 4 or 5 feet higher than the Weta. If you're on an H18 and can't beat a Weta around a regatta course, you're not much of a sailor.

The Weta was designed the way it was for a reason. They wanted it to be trailerable, easy to rig by one person including stepping the mast (I can do it in 15 minutes). They say it's easy, and it is mostly, but can get very, very busy when single handed in good wind with all sails in use. You have to move from out on the tramp, drop into the hull trough, then climb back up and out on the other tramp. It's a lot easier to swap sides in a cat. The Weta isn't hard to capsize - the ama floats are low volume. But with a little care and smart selection it's pretty good about staying upright. In effect, it's pretty much what the company says it is. Tacks in an instant. And it is fast, very fast, for a 14 footer - it's nothing to get it up to 14 or 15MPH and we know they'll do 18-19 in the right conditions with a good sailor. So if you want to compare performance of the Weta to something else, choose a competitor that is roughly the same length with the same amount of sail, something like the H14. Do that and suddenly the Weta becomes a really great boat. I just think the idea that the Weta is somehow lacking because it won't run past a much larger and more powerful boat like the H18 is a bit off the wall. That's like saying the H16 is a dud because it won't stay with an H18.

What I'd like to see, and I'd like to see Hobie do it, is come out with a performance trimaran in something along the lines of a 16 or 17 footer. Even in a rotomolded type of thing. Affordable. I had high hopes for something like the proposed Motive 15R, but it appears that one isn't going to happen. So, there exists a real gap in the market, with the Weta holding down the small "pocket" trimaran end of things, nothing in the middle, and then the big, costly tris in the 22+ foot range. There's an opportunity here for somebody, I think.

so when is some hot shot gonna start a racing class for Hobie Islands?

Didn't Matt write some class rules? We were going to incorporate them into our regatta for come of the central california folks

_________________
Tom
Fleet 259, Central Coast CA
H18 ('81)
H18 ('85)
H20 ('97)
H18 ('78)