Thanks for this thread. I saw it and asked myself, "Do I sell the WETA or not?" It seems that I had some contact back in June with the importer when they were doing the demo on SF Bay. Never heard anything back. I filled out a dealer app, got the pricelist, everything. That's where Hobie wins. The dealer network has the pretty good ability to get parts to their customers fast. I'm not saying we're perfect, I don't want to hear 15 comments how it took 3 months to get this or that. 99% of the time we do pretty well.
Now I know that if I cannot get a call back from the importer to discuss my standing, it's going to be the same with parts. He's going to have to order them from NZ, then ship them to me. Meanwhile, you're waiting months to get back on the water. And, I import parts from Europe and Australia and know the cost and time to ship one little trinket. It took 3 months of fumigations, xrays, and several hundred dollars to get 5 tillers here from Aus.
My friend from AZ broke his front x bar at the North Americans last year in Alameda. We had one overnighted from Hobie and a team of his competitors came over and helped him get it back together. I think he missed 2 races. You just don't get that with other boats.
I'm just saying that if you're into tinkering or want the most expensive cat on the water (Aclass), or are the kind of person that needs to have the odd boat (WETA), maybe another manufacturer's product IS for you. If you're into sailing, and having access to over 40 years of of on the water knowledge, dealer support, local fleets, and one-design racing all over the planet, then stick with Hobie.
And my latest tirade with the economy and all: The WETA level Hobie boats are all made here in the US.
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What the heck, I've already got a catamaran.