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  • in reply to: Weta T-Shirts #329
    Tom Kirkman
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    That’s a very kind offer. If you would send me the artwork I will have one made here. Thanks. I’ll limit it to a shirt for myself.

     

    Rodmaker@earthlink.net

    in reply to: Things I'd like to see… #322
    Tom Kirkman
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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.

     

    in reply to: furling jib #304
    Tom Kirkman
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    It’s easy to install. The standard forestay is replaced with the new stay which the jib is “permanently” attached to. So once you get the adjustment right the process for setting up the boat becomes a little bit quicker. The forestay and jib go up together.

     

    There is a slight adjustment process you’ll go through the first couple times. You want the lower forestay attached pretty low to the bow deck strop. The instructions will give you the distance but I think it’s about 50mm. So to get that right you adjust the strop at the top of the forestay either shorter or longer. It might take you a couple times to get it the proper length. After that it may stretch a little and need to be further adjusted, but after that final adjustment you’re not likely to have to bother with it again.

     

    For my money this is the best thing I’ve added to my Weta.

    in reply to: furling jib #288
    Tom Kirkman
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    I bought one and prefer it over the standard. I was told it was cut smaller, but laying one out on top of the other I can find no difference.

    Being able to furl it  allows you to depower and might make beaching easier for you.  You can also adjust how much you have out, if you still need just a little to help to turn the boat in tight docking situations.

    I like mine a lot and no longer bother using the standard jib. The furling unit is the way to go, in my opinion.

    • This reply was modified 9 years, 11 months ago by Tom Kirkman.
    in reply to: Things I'd like to see… #266
    Tom Kirkman
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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.

    in reply to: First Weta Capsize #198
    Tom Kirkman
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    Welcome to the club.

    Something I did after my first capsize was to mark the bottom of the hull so I could easily find the various sheet blocks to enable me to reach under the water and release them. Sometimes it’s hard to get your head around the fact that once upside down, everything is backwards from you’re used to it being.

    in reply to: Small Main Sail Question #194
    Tom Kirkman
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    The reason I ask is because guys that haven’t been sailing too long don’t always think to uncleat, or even release, the mainsheet. Sort of a panic thing. I wondered if maybe the smaller main might be bulletproof as long as the winds weren’t completely insane.

    in reply to: Weta T-Shirts #167
    Tom Kirkman
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    Can you ship to the USA?

    in reply to: Mast Flotation? #141
    Tom Kirkman
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    The trouble is, cats don’t have that third hull automatically trying to turtle the boat. A mast float is generally okay on them, but maybe not so good on a trimaran. The instant you capsize a Weta you have an ama with about 400lbs flotation trying to get back to the water’s surface, so the mast float would be counteracting that to whatever degree possible.

    I guess I just need to go get in some deep water and try it. More and more I’m thinking you could never get enough floatation into or on top of the mast to completely counteract the ama bouyancy.

    in reply to: Sailing the Weta #127
    Tom Kirkman
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    This is all very good stuff but I’ll add one thing – fear of capsizing can be greatly overcome by just going ahead and capsizing your Weta. Pick a spot where the water is deep enough that the mast isn’t going to go aground and be damaged and stay far enough away from shore that you won’t wash up in a bad spot while you’re trying to right boat.

    The reason I suggest purposely capsizing the boat is that you can die a thousand deaths worrying about something only to find that the thing itself isn’t really that bad. Plus, you get the chance to practice righting the boat. Kill two birds with one stone.

    I was never “afraid” of capsizing but my preference was to stay upright. I had planned a practice capsize but never got around to it. Then one day on a beam reach I got hit with a solid 30-35MPH gust. I tried to steer out from under it (bore off) but didn’t want to release the mainsheet and have to build up speed again. So I went over. The actual capsize wasn’t nearly as bad as I had imagined it might be. It just rolled over and lowered me into the drink. Once I got the boat up and back to shore I was laughing about it.

    My preference remains to stay right side up, but I’m not going to sit home on really windy days just because I might capsize. It ain’t that bad and once a new Weta owner has experienced it they’ll know it’s nothing to lose sleep over. Go ahead and get it over with so it doesn’t hamper your future enjoyment of the boat.

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