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Really just one new product I’d like to see from Weta – a reefing main. I have both the standard and 6.5 mainsail. What would be nice would be a single sail that allowed you to unzip the bottom 1/4 or so and have both a standard and “storm” sail all in one. Would allow you to do this on the water.
My Hobie TriFoiler sails are like this. I think they are the old Multi-Sail design. Sure is a nice feature. You get two sails for not much more than the price of one and can switch up on the fly. Two different pegs on the halyard and you’re good to fly either one.
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I agree wholeheartedly.
Here’s a perfect example of why you don’t always want to be out on the rail (or even further). Two of us on the rail, because it was a comfortable place to be. Note the windward ama is in the water. Not a good thing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pD-TR-Ttv0w
We would have done better had we kept our butts on the hull and legs inside the cockpit (or at least one of us!). There’s a time to be out, there’s a time to be in. There’s a time to be aft and a time to be forward. It all makes a difference.
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I note from the report of Linda and Randy’s adventure that they were sailing with the full main and no jib in winds up to 40 knots!
Hobie were offering a sail with the the Zip-off reefing system for the Wave but seem to have dropped the product now.
I agree about keeping the boat flat and I aim to keep the leward hull buried no further than the midline. It’s very easy to get comfortable on the tramp and not realise that the leward hull is under water!
I did a test today in light winds (5-9 knots) using the GPS reading from iRegatta on the iPhone. I was sitting up next to the mast most of the time but as soon as the leward hull reached the midline I moved back to the edge of the tramp and got an immediate increase in speed – OK it was only around .1 of a knot but enough to make a difference.
I mount my camera on the stern using a DIY “Suckastick”- as described and photograped in the Weta Yahoo Forums.
I have an SJ3000 waterproof camera for <$100 which comes with a remote that I keep in the front pocket of the lifejacket. I usually just turn it on when I launch and run it until the battery dies – around 90 minutes.
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I was hiking out on the ama the first time I took it out. But you don’t always have to hike that far out. You only want to keep the boat reasonably flat, with just one or two hulls in the water.
The remote for my camera is mounted inside the main hull proper, so I’m only using the camera when we’re in situations where we’re not hiked all the way out. I plan to get a second remote this year and put it out further, or maybe on my person. I have tried the latter but kept bumping it accidentally and burning up battery and memory card space.
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While I can see the benefit of a zip-off reefing main in winds over 35 knots, I think you’d rarely need one if you had the small main and furling jib as you could always use the main alone and (if not already sailing) ease the shroud tension to allow the mast tip to go forward and allow you to tack more easily.
All your videos show you lying on the tramp bracing your feet on the opposite side of the cockpit which means you’re only getting 1/4 of the righting moment you could get by getting your weight out further. Take a look at pics and videos of other Weta sailors such as this one – https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=A46CPWFXXeY.
I think you’d find you can get more out of your Weta than you think by learning to hike out from the outer frame of the tramp (it helps to put foam padding underneath) and when you’ve mastered this, by sitting on the Ama using the harness. Apart from anything else you get much less spray in the face!
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