Looking for a new boat for the wife

A few years back I bought a Bravo with optional boom for my wife so we could sail alone together (I sail a H17Sport). She now wants to move up to a faster boat, but still needs a boat that she can right herself (she is 5'0" and just a bit over 100 lb). I've sailed the wave a few times and don’t much care for the boat, Hobie Europe has several boats that would fill the bill, but alas I live in Washington State. A Hobie 14 Turbo with updated sails and running gear might fill the bill, but finding one in primo shape is difficult. SO, I’ve been looking at a new 14’ trimaran made in New Zealand, the Weta.

http://www.wetamarine.com/

What do you think???

That WETA looks really nice!! $11,000 US 14'6" long Trimaran with a top speed of 16.3 knots!! Can accommodate 3 adults. Total weight 220 Lbs. East coast dealer is just up the road from me.

http://norbanks.com/Nor%27Banks%20Weta% ... -PROOF.pdf

That mention that they may do a carbon w/ hydrofoils is interesting too.

Too Rich for my wallet though. 09' AI is still in the lead.

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2010 Hibiscus Adventure Island

I'll stick with my WAVE. as she looks way more comfortable out on a full day than the WETA.

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"HOBIE....
Say it LOUD and there's music playing...
Say it SOFT and it's almost like praying.....
I just sailed my WAVE out the Marina !"
West Coast Story

An A-Cat is very light and easy to right. Look for a used one I think you will both like sailing it...not together.

Or, upgrade your boat to the F16 class and give her the 17. The F16 can sail solo or two up, super light and has spin. It would give you the option of sailing together or separate. Hobie doesn't offer a F16 but there are several on the US market and several used for sale on Catsailor.com.

If you really want to stay with Hobie, get your self an 18 and give her the 17. There are 5 members of our fleet that solo their 18s.

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Sail Like you Have a Pair
Bluish gray 73 - 83 H16
Super Nice Yellow 84 H18

Just checking, this is the "Hobie Cat" forum isn't it?

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Greg Thomas
Hobie Factory Team

I don't have a wife, but if I did I would buy her a S2 7.9 What the heck, I've already got a catamaran.

No offense Greg. He asked for an upgrade to what he currently has that can be solo righted if necessary. 17 or 14 is it in glass Hobies. I should have mentioned the FX One as well. I sail a '82 H18 and couldn't solo right it in a hurricane. The F16 offers the best of it all, sorry, it just does!

The FXone is a sweet ride. Fast, can be raced/sailed two up very easily. You can have a spinnaker, and a self tacking jib. Not super light, but not that heavy either, uni with the spin its 327lbs.

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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Sail Revolution
Join us on our new FB Page!

Looks like the timing is right for a foreign manufacturer to make an effort to gain a stake in the US sailing market, and support it. RS has started to make the move. Trouble is, catamarans are a small percentage of that sailing pie and you now have Kite boarding, in addition to windsurfing, biting in to that slice.

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Sheet In...Max Out
www.fleet297.org
sailflatlands at gmail dot com

Surf City makes some great points.

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"HOBIE....
Say it LOUD and there's music playing...
Say it SOFT and it's almost like praying.....
I just sailed my WAVE out the Marina !"
West Coast Story