okay, talk to me about the good/bad/ugly. Preferably from those who sail/have sailed one

Will this keep my beachcat skills up?
Is the performance reasonably close to an F16?
Are beach landings particularly harmful? Compared to today's beachcats - not the bomb-proof solid fiberglass H16s of yore...

The marketing slicks make it look like it's the answer to everything including global warming, so I am quite suspicious

What I DO like is that it's small enough to go in the garage, about $5,000 USD cheaper than even a used F16/F18/A-cat, can go 1up but still take the barnacles if it's not too windy, and looks easy to rig and move around on the beach.

I don't see much of a fleet around, but I'd be pretty much stuck sailing with leaners down here anyway. I envision it keeping my harness damp so I still remember which way points forward on high performance beachcats.

Cruise up to the Buzzelli Rendevous next weekend. There should be a big fleet of them. You can probably get a ride.

The Charlotte Harbor Regatta also has a good sized fleet.

I gave them a good look at Charlotte Harbor a couple of years ago.

They should get some sort of design award for how the boat packs up for trailing and storage.

I felt they would get around the course much better with a spinnaker instead of the reacher. Imo, they sail a bit too high downwind without the speed to off set the greater distance.

Very stable though, you'd likely spend a lot more time with the pointy end up.

well, since my TOTW right now is limited to a barbie boogie board, which is quite a dog to windward I might add and can't float all three of us together, I think anything with a sail that I can handle myself would be an improvement.

Heck, this thing looks small enough to tow behind an old Civic...

Similar performance to a Hobie 16 and you can find used,good A cats and slightly outdated F-18s for $3-4K less than a Weta ,all day long. If you want a tri get a weta if you want a cat (That goes alot faster and is easy to move) get an A.

From regatta results on the west coast... no where near the Hobie 16 round the course. Guys in the F18 fleet were lapping them even though the Wetas had a shortened course.

I found a used Prindle 18 for $500, and an old Hobie 14, also for $500. You could find a used Hobie 16 for a whole lot less than a new Weta, and take the kiddies out on that, teach them to trap, AND be able to race it, they are still one of the biggest fleets at many regattas.

I've spent a lot of hours on the Weta at our club, mainly helping the disability program but also solo.
Weta is a great boat and I'm a fan of it for what it is, you can set it up solo easily, novice sailors can sail it confidently under 15 knots, you can go out in heaps of wind, ours has capsized twice in about 20 knots of wind due to skipper error and would have turtled if the water was deeper but it's easy to right. It wont keep your harness wet the mast is too weak for a trap, the harness on the boat is so if you fall off the boat doesn't sail away from you due to the tri stability. It's great fun in a blow and I've sailed along with the leeward ama completely underwater on a good spin reach no problem, it's more tiring than a cat in plenty of wind and very wet, Weta's not much fun in light wind, on a cat you can wild thing in the light so you've still got your heart rate up. It wont keep up with a hobie 16 around the course and cannot sail to it's rating you'll need to work with your club to agree on a suitable rating. It packs away very easily but is not quicker than a normal cat to setup. If you have heaps of wind where you sail it would be a fun boat to own, the kids at our club don't like it and prefer to sail on cats. You cannot leave it mast up overnight as each time the mast wobbles the amas rise and fall slightly which causes wear in the slide in joint for the amas, if its a windy day it's tricky leaving it on the beach on its beach trolley as the wind gets under the tramps, so it's better leaving it on the sand.

I sail with a local who owns a weta. He loved to fly around in 15-20 mph. (he doesnt sail around here much anymore)

He went through many multis (gcat 5.0, acat, Magnum Tri & weta)

He loves it for its mobility and self stepping. they are a hoot..

they are not like being on a formula catamaran.

I sailed this weta in 15-20.. it was a wet and fun ride, but no-wheres near as fast as a f16 (as far as i have seen and sailed next to)

as a pleasure cat..i say its a fantastic cat...

except it's a tri.;)

yes, i meant boat / tri

Surely you meant H16?

There were five WETAs at Juana's, and a big WETA-logoed enclosed trailer (dealer?). Don't know where the rating came from, but they were given a DPN of 78.5. (Rating really didn't matter.....they had their own fleet, and there were no "Overall" results.) WETA's had the same start/course as the H16s. Can compare elapsed times (and maybe see a familiar WETA driver to consult?) here:

http://www.juanaspagodas.com/RegattaNews.htm

I would hope to heck they were... Looking at some rough calculations between the tri and a typical F16, and there's some pretty huge disparity. I didn't even want to think about comparing to F18 or Acat as it would look pretty silly

I wonder how this tri would compare to a Hobie 14?

SA D upwind - Weta 55.68, F16 84.43, H16 74.64
SA D down - Weta 94.43, F16 162.35, H16 74.64

Bruce number up - Weta 1.87, F16 2.28, H16 2.16
Bruce number down - Weta 2.43, F16 3.19, H16 2.16

L/B ratio - Weta 1.25, F16 1.95, H16 2.09

So, compared to just about any cat, the tri would be a lot slower. On the bright side, the Weta offers:
- smallest size (14 ft LWL)
- smallest storage footprint (15ft x 4ft? folded up)
- smallest sail area to handle for one person
- lightest overall weight (211 lbs if you can believe the literature)

I would love to see a polar diagram. I think there was another thread about smartphone apps that could plot a polar for your boat...

Much better boat than a H14

I think for what it is, it looks like a good boat. I've never been on one, and I have zero interest in owning one too. Just doesn't appeal to me. Different strokes for different folks

hmmm, more like a de-powered skiff with training wheels/amas?

...While being sprayed with a fire hose.

Don't get me wrong, it looks like a hoot...but two dudes on that is probably a bit much....or it needs a little more freeboard for speed.

the furling screacher is very flat, code zero like

which is great for reaching and light winds

but the angles are not too good for downwind

however the factory is apparently now working on a deeper cut sail

Spot on it's an ideal boat for nervous, new, cruisers, old or disabled sailors. If your just looking for an easy boat for yourself that packs away easily, for the same price you can buy an A class or any number of other cats that will lap the Weta on a proper course in any wind.