British  Weta  Class Association

Shroud T-Balls

There has been one report of the mast falling down after the T-Ball jumped out of the socket in the mast. It is possible to distort the T-Balls while tensioning the rig if they do not lie correctly in their sockets as the mast is raised. Sticky tape can help but this email from Roger Kitchen (the boat’s designer) may help:

Sorry to hear that the T balls seem to be a problem. Just to clear a few matter up:
 

The 2.5 T Balls are manufactured in NZ from the same supplier and have remained the same size.
 

This is the first we have heard of any issues with the T balls popping out. If the T Balls are sticking out at an angle it is possible to bend them in a little without any loss of strength (manufacturer). As you do when you rig any boat you must check that the T Balls and the stay adjuster are correctly aligned after you raise the mast so there is no sudden release of tension while you are sailing.Put on plenty of rig tension.We do not see the need for grommets as they have not been an issue but they are available.If you do have trouble with the T balls falling out while you raise the mast then you can do, as Simon suggested, which we did with our first 6 manufactured boats, put a piece of bungy around the mast. You just drill a 3mm hole through the mast track close to the mast so it does not go through the bolt rope groove. Put a piece of 3mm bungey through and slip the T Balls underneath... this will always keep the T balls in tight to the mast. The hole should be about 40mm below the T Ball holes. If you ever do have a rigging error your mast should be fine
 

I hope this helps.
 

Regards
 

Roger Kitchen
Weta Marine

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Shroud Failure

The shroud (sidestay) has been known to fail at the ferrule terminal above the heart-shaped thimble. Visual inspection recommended.

Gelcoat Colour

The white gelcoat colour (officially grey) is RAL 7035 obtainable from somewhere in Sunderland

WETA WARNINGS

Service Bulletins from the Membership

Trolley welds.

ThThe lightweight launching trolley has been breaking at the weld above the axle. Don’t overload it or use ratchet straps when towing.

From Chris Kitchen……….
 

Greetings!

We would like to make a few comments about the issues raised in your forum about the Weta beach dolly.
We agree that the trailer still needs more development as under certain circumstances the dolly can bend behind the axle.
 

The dolly design is a balance of weight/strength. The key concept of the Weta is about being easy to rig/launch etc and be a one man operation. To achieve this a heavy dolly does not work. The dolly has seen many improvements over the years with increasing the rail sections from 90x20 to 100x20, larger diameter wheels with heavy duty tyres etc. The next run of dollies will see new hull supports giving less resistance when
launching in surf and an extra aluminium plate section spanning the axle area to eliminate the HAZ part of the dolly where the failures have occurred. With less fibreglass in the new support design the weight increase should be minimal.

These improvements will not solve the bending situation unless careful thoughtis put into strapping management.Heavy duty ratchet straps are not to be used on a Weta. Simple hand tensioned straps with no mechanical advantage are best. The Weta are very secure in their moulded supports and just need to be held in position without bouncing. We strongly recommend to trail the boat free of any equipment in the cockpit,
however - provided the dolly is correctly supported- you can tie the sails in the front of the cockpit.

It seems many issues arise from combi trailers where the dolly is unsupported behind the axle. A combi trailer is fine if it has light suspension to match and absorb the bumps. Trailing a Weta on a double axle 2 ton trailer without supporting the trailer full length will end in tears. In this situation take off the beach dolly
wheels and put chocks under the longitudinal rails. For a lightweight combi trailer you need just one strap over the Weta main hull in front of the beach trailer axle area. You should not only tie the bow of the Weta to the beach dolly but you should strap the bow of the Weta onto the road trailer. This will stop some of the
bouncing on the rear support.

The amas are fine just by using the mainsail downhaul S hook to secure the grab straps on the front of the tramps and the mainsheet S hook for the rear tramp grab straps.

If your beach dolly does need repair we suggest welding a 400mm aluminium box section or 5mm plate to strengthen the area around the axle. This can be easily done on the outside of the main rail or if there is no room on a Combi trailer you can cut a section of the cross beam and slip it on the inside. This should be an easy fix for a local engineer that is capable of welding aluminium.

We hope this is helpful as we are not trying to cut corners skimping on materials but we want to manufacture a trailer which compliments the function of the Weta.

We would like to thank you for your continuing support and wish you all well in the coming season.

Happy New Year

Roger and Chris Kitchen
Weta HQ