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BOAT TEST
Words by Lia Ditton
Weta 4.4 Boat test
From the Maori language word 'weta,' the
The likeness of the insect to the boat is comical
and creative of the father and son team, Roger
Weta 4.4 m trimaran is named after an W
and Chris Kitchen, who came up with the Weta
insect species endemic to the New Zealand
concept. Ex-chairman of the ‘Yachting New
Zealand Junior and Youth Committee’ which regulates all
archipelago. Used in both the singular and recreational and high performance youth sailing in New
plural (like the word 'sheep'), the physical
Zealand, Roger’s background is in teaching mathematics.
His son Chris has a Mechanical Engineering degree from
appearance of the weta insect is much like Auckland University, worked for a short period as an
that of a katydid, long-horned grasshopper
engineer and has sailed for 18 years competing in many
overseas regattas. He won the Silver Medal in the World
or even a cricket, but where the hind legs
Youth Championships sailing a Hobie 16 and gained 6th
are enlarged and usually very spiny.
place in the Laser Radial Worlds.
Together, the Kitchen family objective was to produce a high
performance boat- ‘a quick, easy, low stress and versatile yacht
that enables a family to enjoy sailing together.’

Since launching in the New Zealand market in 2007, the appeal
has been far broader, encompassing the racer market, the family
market as well what UK distributor Simon Curry calls ‘the age
extremes,’ sailing beginners and experienced, mature sailors.
With one-design racing in mind, the San Francisco Yacht Club
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  MAY 2009 : MULTIHULL REVIEW  13
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