Weta Trimaran


The Weta 4.4 Trimaran is a 4.4 metre sailing dinghy conceived and developed in New Zealand from 2001-2006 by Roger and Chris Kitchen and others with original drawings by TC Design's Tim Clissold.

Design

The boat is constructed from fibreglass and carbon fibre, and is popular as a racing boat or for recreational sailing. It has added stability and righting moment from the trimaran amas or floats.

Recognition

The Weta Trimaran is recognized as one design class by Yachting New Zealand, the French Sailing Federation, and the Royal Yachting Association in the UK.
It has been approved for the Paralympics and World Masters Games.

Awards

In 2010 the Weta Trimaran was awarded Boat of the Year by Sailing World magazine.

Builds

There are two distinct builds of the Weta Trimaran, the 'original build' and the '2015 Weta' which was created from a new mold and included hull revisions.
In April 2017, Weta announced the availability of a foam-core Weta which as well as being stiffer is right on the minimum weight of 120Kg in the class rules.

Original build

Early prototypes were produced in New Zealand but from 2006 to 2014 the 'original build' was manufactured in China for Weta Marine and sailed internationally with 1200+ boats sold to date with the largest fleets in France and the USA. Its sails were manufactured by Dutch windsurfing sail-maker Gaastra.
The design evolved over time:
In 2014 the new 2015 Weta was announced.
Structural and cosmetic improvements include:
In September 2014 the first of the new '2015 Weta' build were shipped to customers in the US.

2017 Foam Core Weta & Square Top Sail

In April 2017, Weta announced the availability of a foam-core hull and bi-radial cut 9.3 m square top mainsail (compared to the original Pin-head 8.3 m mainsail. Nearly all Wetas built since 2018 have been foam core and the Square Top sail has been adopted as the standard sail for racing in most regions.

2020 Self-tacking jib kit

In February 2020, Weta announced the availability of a Self-Tacking Jib kit designed to be retrofitted to existing hulls or as an addition to new boats. The kit allows taking without adjusting the jib sheets and includes a slightly smaller jib which is 3.0sqm. Around 6% less sail area than the standard jib at 3.2sqm.

Performance