Haha that looks like great fun in no wind but Id like to see a video of a 18 knot gust, coming through, think your on the right track with the Weta
Its a shame the Weta hasn't put a
turbo
version out there for the racer, it wouldn't have taken much more investment, perhaps a better mast and sail combo and maybe larger Amas but in concept it was pretty good right from the start, just a bit pedestrian for the those who wanted a more race orientated boat.
Often wondered how many upgrade kits you could sell, main sail, mast base extension and perhaps stays.
so lots of comments on how to improve the weta:
- more freeboard for a drier ride
- more sail area (or turbo setup)
- etc
all those things would likely make it faster, but harder to set up and use. Given the target market appears to be those wishing an easy, no-fuss kind of sailing it may be counterproductive...?
I wasn't considering changes to the Weta, rather modifications to make the Blade a little safer for off shore, single handed work. Then of course I rode off in all directions...
when you say
off-shore
how far do you mean? Past sight of land?
Is the Blade rated for that kind of sailing? Is any beach cat rated for
off-shore
?
My thinking with beachcats is not to sail farther than I can swim, which puts it somewhere around 5-8 miles off the coast. Past that, and currents could keep me away from land until exposure claims me..
Here you go Pete: http:/
I was thinking it would be neet if Matt built a center hull, and we could add our 16' (or 18') hulls as the amas, and use our rig for the mast/sails, for a 21' tri, sort of like this: http:/
Sort of like a Weta, but much bigger, faster and...putting on my NH accent now...Drya'!
Should we put together a crew to help the Man Shed finish his project?
This might be a base platform to start with.
The akas (crossbeams) is as big or bigger challange than the hulls. Aluminum-relatively inexpensive and heavy. Composite-more money less weight.
Who has the engineering talent to do the calculations?
I have more dreams than resources.
If I were going to do it, I'd keep it as low tech, cheap and simple as possible, and just use straight aluminium tubes for beams, like in those Virus boat pictures.
I hear ya Jack,
more dreams than resources
. And Tim, 220kg= 448 lbs. on my calculator.
Jay, to paraphase some one who will go unnamed, offshore is
further than you'd care to swim.
I was thinking something like the Weta using as many bits and pieces of the Blade as possible.
I failed to mention the folding mechanism.
What you need is something like a 49er which has sail power to burn and a big wide hull to carry the beer, there must be a dingy that has a mega amount of sail area and now no longer active as a class that doesn't weigh to much.
Sadly our masts just would not be up to the job on a tri as the righting moment would just be too great for our weedy little sticks
For the best of the best then think along the likes of Randy Smythes
Scissors
but using the blade Amas.