23.8MPH Weta

Funky Cat Paw winds aside, managed to read the clouds for best wind and take advantage of relatively calm surface conditions. Hit 23.8 at some point according to the Velocitek Speed Puck. Frankly, I didn't think this boat could attain that speed, but apparently it will.

[@geoffg6867]

You are a good helmsman, spot on with your angles, a credit.

[@Adventure_Bum]

Bloody quick - nice smooth water for such strong wind. Good times!

[@johnsteiner8640]

Excellent video and questions answered! Thanks!

[@Eyagsf]

My late husband and I used to race Prindle catamarans in the eighties. A motorboat once clocked us doing 25 mph. This boat is such a fantastic design. No boom and such a simple traveler. Great job to you and kudos to the designer👍 Saw my first Weta this weekend and had to do the research.

[@TomKirkman1]

Actually there is no traveler whatsoever. This makes it just a bit tricky in higher winds as you can't sheet out beyond a certain point and without a traveler there is no way to decrease power further. However, the adjustable clew plate and cunningham controls are very effective. You just have to put some physical effort into holding it down in big winds.

[@Eyagsf]

TomKirkman1 ...you do a great job without one then. 👍

[@Eyagsf]

Are you still sailing this boat... or have you moved on?

[@TomKirkman1]

@@Eyagsf I have close to 4000 hours on it and still sail it quite a bit. It has been very well thought out and very clever and quick to rig. As you know, the quicker a boat is to rig the more you'll use it. Otherwise I sail this: kzbin.info/www/bejne/n2SVeGZnZ55se7c

[@adamf.4823]

Is there a reason you can't secure your tiller extensions more snug to the tramps? I hated to see them getting whipped around in the water like that, looks like something wants to break. Awesome sailing!

[@TomKirkman1]

You could rig stirrups or similar to what they use on the Diam24 but it's really not necessary. My tiller extensions are going on 5 years of hard use and they're fine. But sure, you could rig stirrups if you want to keep them up out of the water. The tethers just sort of make them quick to drop and pick up again.

[@OutdoorAdventuresGroup]

That lake looked pretty busy with small sailboats in the distance. I even saw you pass a WR 16. Was there a special occasion going on or is that how it normally is on a windy day?

[@TomKirkman1]

Pretty normal on most good days. Lots of local sailors.

[@alanaldpal950]

Very nice at first from the thumbnail I thought you were on a Hobie Island Kayak. How does you Weta do in choppy water or rough open water?

[@TomKirkman1]

If you keep the speed up it does very well, although it throws a lot of water.

[@JaffarBentchikou]

Congratulations for an excellent video that I am only now discovering. You show 23.8 on the display of your SpeedPuck and add MPH on the title of the video. Could you confirm that these are NOT nautical miles but land miles which would convert into 20.7 knots? A lesser number but still a tremendous accomplishment by my standard.

[@TomKirkman1]

Yes, land miles and it translates to 20.68 knots. The puck was set to MPH in this video. Since then I have reset the "Puck" to read only in knots since that is how most sailors compare speeds.

[@jimvincent9840]

@@TomKirkman1 That's pucked up...

[@spiritofthewolf15x]

Can the weta fly her main hull or do the amas not have the buoyancy?

[@jaysparc]

The ama will dig in way before you can fly the main hull. They supposedly have 400 lbs of buoyancy.

[@nelsonabrams140]

I have never seen anyone drive a Weta that hard! But the leeward float never goes all the way under? Does it not go that deep or do you have a way to keep it up there? Is there not enough wind to sink it? I guess the Weta will not fly the center hull?

[@TomKirkman1]

You don't want to push the Weta's leeward ama (float) too deep as that simply induces more drag and slows you down. The idea is to keep the boat as flat as possible to take advantage of as much wind as you can. This generally entails keeping the leeward ama buried about 1/2 of its height, which keeps the windward ama about 8 to 12 inches out of the water. You have to constantly adjust the main sheet and/or steering to keep the boat in this attitude. I doubt I ever sail more than a couple or three seconds without adjusting one or the other - watch my hands on the mainsheet and tiller. This is how you get the boat to go fast.

[@nelsonabrams140]

How hard was the wind blowing? Will the boat do more than wind speed?

[@TomKirkman1]

Best wind speed for the Weta in my opinion is about 15 to 25MPH. Beyond that and you just spill excess wind - it won't do anything further for you. The real key to good speed is having flat water in conjunction with those winds. Big wind and rough water "feels" faster, but it isn't.

[@nelsonabrams140]

How far can you go out past the rail? Trapeze yes?

[@TomKirkman1]

The boat doesn't come with a trapeze set up. I suppose it could be done. If the wind is strong I keep my butt out beyond the rail by several inches. Some people will drop down and sit on the ama, but in gusty/shifty winds I stay off the ama so I can be prepared to sit up or slide in quickly. If you just plant yourself out there in the kind of winds we have you'll get tea-bagged every few seconds, if not capsized to windward. You can get all the info on the boat from www.wetamarine.com

[@jamesgeorge1251]

Have to say that a couple of times there it looked like you were flying across the water.

[@TomKirkman1]

Water was pretty flat and wind strength not overpowering so I didn't have to spill much if any. Other than the funky line I had to take due to these type winds, it was a good day for speed.

[@inthelionsden4772]

Couldn't really see, but do you have a tiller extension on both sides?

[@TomKirkman1]

Yes. My own design.

[@inthelionsden4772]

@@TomKirkman1 Great idea. I've watched a couple of videos using the 'throw-the-extension-around-the-main-sheet-before-I-tack' technique. Have a gold star!!

[@MrMilanoLau]

faster than a hobie cat?

[@TomKirkman1]

Which Hobie Cat? Hobie has made over a dozen different models.

[@MrMilanoLau]

Hobie 16, say.

[@TomKirkman1]

Upwind, no. Downwind with screecher out, yes. Plus the Weta turns much faster. Long course would give the nod to the H16, shorter, tighter course with more turns to the Weta.

[@TomKirkman1]

Same thing as above. 16 is a little faster on most points of sail, but does not have a screecher and does not turn nearly as quickly as the Weta.

[@MrMilanoLau]

You've just done an experiment?

[@billtriplett4186]

GPS devices are not always accurate, just sayin'......

[@TomKirkman1]

Velocitek claims the Speed Puck is accurate to within +/- 0.2 knots. I wasn't under a host of trees nor between tall buildings. Clouds don't interrupt satellite signals. Besides, the kind of speeds that sailboats attain are nowhere near enough to challenge any decent GPS device.