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PostPosted: Mon Oct 06, 2003 7:31 am 
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Authorized Hobie Dealer

Joined: Mon Jun 02, 2003 7:35 pm
Posts: 1369
Location: 315 N. Hwy 79 Panama City Beach, FL 32413 850-235-2281
Scott wrote:
Everything about it screems user friendly. This is exactly the type of boat a beginner needs.



This is exactly what we tell everyone in the shop. There isn't a better boat for learning. The wave is very close but if its a family then you can out grow it, the Getaway is a purchase that will keep providing fun for the entire family for countless years to come. In the last 3 years we have weeded out H16's from our rental fleet, now only Waves and Getaways. We haven't had to go rescuse anyone sence! If anyone wants to go for a ride please let me know, always needs a reason to go sailing!

Thanks,
Brad Stephens
Authorized Hobie/Vanguard Dealer
www.sunjammers.com
[email protected]
850-235-2281

Panama City Beach, FL


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 Post subject: The Getaway Rocks!
PostPosted: Sat Oct 25, 2003 11:48 pm 
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Joined: Sun Aug 31, 2003 7:09 am
Posts: 18
Location: Texas
I've had my Getaway for about two months now and have had it on the water maybe a half-dozen times. It just keeps getting better! This is my first cat--I grew up sailing keelboats--and I think I made an excellent choice with the Getaway. I agree completely with all the owners and magazine reviewers who've said this is a perfect boat for the beginning cat sailor and something you won't outgrow too quickly (I doubt ever). Everyone I take out comes back with a big smile. It's just a great all-around boat for friends and family!

If you go out solo or even two-man in a good breeze, it really kicks up a wake. Or you can pile on the kids and just take it easy. And it must be a fairly forgiving boat because, while I have flown the windward hull high and buried the leeward bow a few times (and even managed to stand it on its nose once, catapulting off my crewman), I have yet to capsize it completely. I won't attribute that to either skill or luck (that would've run out long since), so it must be sound design and engineering. Kudos to Mr Ketterman and his team.

The only real problem I've had was my own fault: I took it out in too much wind and chop (need to recalibrate my "sea sense" from a 44-ft keelboat to a 17-ft beach cat) and found I couldn't get it to come about. Forced to gybe, and with a novice crewman, I blew it and let the main snap over hard, bending the mast. Ouch! Happily, it only took me a week (and $0.00) to get it fixed. Check out my web page to see how and why a bent mast is not the end of the world.

If you're a tinkerer like me, you'll also want to check out the many other projects I've completed for the boat and trailer (hiking straps, hiking sticks, mast cradle, sail tube, etc). It's all in the name of making the Getaway easier to get to the water and even more fun to sail. Things I'm pondering for the future include jib travelers or barber haulers, a smaller mainsail for strong winds, a lockable furler for roller-reefing the jib, and maybe even some sort of chute (asymmetric?) for light winds. If anyone has any information, suggestions or other cool ideas, I'd love to hear about them.

Cheers, Steve


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sun Dec 21, 2003 8:11 pm 
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Joined: Sat Dec 06, 2003 9:22 pm
Posts: 139
This sounds like a great boat--almost too good and dangerous for the fate of the H16 :roll: I certainly wish it great success but I would not like the classic racing boat to be dashed by the getaway. It already did away with the 18SX. I don't think the H16 is substitutable yet.


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Thu Apr 29, 2004 2:09 pm 
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Joined: Thu Apr 29, 2004 1:26 pm
Posts: 127
Location: San Francisco Bay Area
I had a Wave a couple of years ago and am getting my Getaway next weekend. The 2001 model has a cupholder in the top of the storage compartment, but it's not big enough to work with a koozie.

I sail off of Texas City Dike, just south of Houston. It's an 11 mile dike that blocks the waves, but lets the wind by unobstructed. Awesome. I was really glad to find this forum and all of the supporting opinions that I made the correct choice.


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 Post subject: Don't Worry Al...
PostPosted: Sat May 01, 2004 2:29 pm 
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Joined: Thu Jul 10, 2003 8:55 pm
Posts: 111
Location: Saint Albans Bay, Vermont
I don't think that the H16 is going away any time soon. I do understand the concern, but the 16 is Hobie's "meat and potatos". I'd be willing to bet that the 16 is still the best selling boat that hobie has (does anyone have actual figures??). I grew up sailing a 16 and have great memories, but as I get older, I am loving my Getaway. Lately, I just want to jump on my Getaway, bring the wife (or not), and go sailing! Just don't put your lunch in the coolers and expect them to stay dry. Soggy tunafish sandwiches and chips are not the best way to eat them.
I have seen many races with H16's and none with Getaways. Maybe that will change. I just hope that Hobie will continually improve and evolve the sport. The Getaway actually helps the sport because it allows anyone to go sailing. The more people the better!

Scott


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Wed May 12, 2004 12:51 pm 
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Joined: Thu Apr 29, 2004 1:26 pm
Posts: 127
Location: San Francisco Bay Area
I took the 2001 Getaway that I bought to the lake Sunday. It was a blast. I was a little nervous, but considering I'm used to dealing with a 2000lb, 21ft sloop, it was a breeze. The winds were 5-8 konts when we first got out there. I sculled out of the marina, just to be safe, then raised the main only to sail out into the broad cove my marina is in. I had a little problem pointing to make forward progress, but it reached like a dream. When I got more comfortable, I unfurled the jib and we shot forward. The wind started to pick up, so both of these contributed to pointing a little better. Because it's so much faster than my sloop, which usually makes it an all-day committment, we decided to make a quick run across the lake to a lakeside establishment for some refreshments. I didn't even have to mess with the slips, I just beached her and tied her off to a bush. We strolled over and have a few beverages. I noticed a front moving through, so we decided to head back. By that time it was blowing 15 knots. We screamed back across the lake in 20 minutes. I had to decide whether to point as high as possible and go slower, or scream across the lake by falling off a little and tacking around the point. By the time we got into the middle of the lake, it was up to 18 knots and starting to whitecap. I let out the main and kept the main sheet in hand. We rocketed into the back of the cove, where I furled the jib and sailed it right up to the courtesy dock. I neglected to mention that I handed the hotstick over to my date, who really loved sailing such a responsive boat. Her learning curve was quite steep that day, as she's new to sailing. I know I've got a lot more to learn about sailing "Kamikaze" (Japanes for "Divine Wind"), but I felt comfortably in control within just a few minutes. I couldn't be happier with my purchase and will be taking her all over southeast Texas. My buddies can't wait to take her for a spin. The wing seats provide great options for either backrests or bench seating. My date even laid out on the tramp a little, but the chilly water randomly splashing her backside dissuaded her quickly. The boat is easy to manhandle at the dock or on the beach. I just shoved off and sheeted in the main to take off from the beach. It was also quite picturesque to sit at the bar and see her on the beach. I highly recommend the Getaway for someone that wants a catamaran that's easy to sail for beginners, but one they won't soon outgrow when they get more proficient. It's got plenty of surface area for friends to come along for the ride. I'm buying Hobie accessories as fast as I can to totally trick her out. First was the soft-sided cooler that clips to the tramp. We got kind of thirsty out there. She needs a little TLC from sitting out in the Texas sun for a couple of years, but she's still a great looking and performing. Not having to worry about the rotomolded hull is quite liberating. It was really easy to get on and off the trailer. The mast raising was a little tricky, but only because it was my first time. It'll get much easier with a little more practice. I was able to lift it relatively easily from the rear crossbar to fully upright while standing on the trampoline. I did need some help getting the forestay bridle attached properly, but am in the process of rigging something that will allow me to do it solo.

Any suggestions on pointing, and cleaning the hulls, tramp, sails etc. would be greatly appreciated.


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Fri May 14, 2004 8:44 pm 
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Site Rank - Deck Hand

Joined: Sun Aug 31, 2003 7:09 am
Posts: 18
Location: Texas
Though I'm still far from an expert cat sailor, here are a few things I've learned (or guessed) about sailing my Getaway...

Yes, it's tough to make it point--or more generally to make upwind progress--especially when the wind is light. It's even tougher to get it to come about, especially when the water is choppy. The chop often kills my momentum before I can get the bows through the wind.

Here's where I think these problems stem from, and what I've found will help. (I doubt my diagnosis is rigorous enough for a naval architect, but the symptoms/treatments are what I've empirically observed.) It seems the skegs don't become effective at countering leeway until you've got a pretty good head of steam--they are decidely very low-aspect foils! Also, I'm guessing their center of lateral resistance (CLR) is somewhat aft of where a daggerboard's would be. If you sit too far aft, as on any catamaran you'll drag your butt and go slower. While you might think you're giving your skegs more bite (and maybe you are), this doesn't make up for the fact you're also moving the center of gravity (CG) aft and raising your bows, thus creating more freeboard. This, coupled with the aft CLR of the skegs/rudders, really lets the wind pivot your nose around to leeward.

To make better upwind progress, and to successfully come about in the chop, you need to get your weight as far forward as you can for the conditions. This moves the CG of the boat forward and allows the wind and rudders to more easily pivot you to weather. I've followed the advice of my Rick White Upwind/Roll-Tacking video as much as possible in this regard (including staying on the downwind side until through the wind), and it seems to help. The one thing there seems to be a lot of debate about, though, is whether to backwind the jib. I agree with Rick White that this will slow you down following the tack--no question it'll do that in a keelboat!--but I often find it's the only way I can bring the Getaway about. I've tried releasing (and even furling) the jib to theoretically increase weather helm, but so far no luck. Maybe it's just a matter of timing and crew coordination--admittedly I haven't thoroughly tested these methods with a seasoned crew--but I do suspect there's one thing we'll just have to live with: because I would expect the skegs to resist yawing (i.e. pivoting the boat), even with a forward CG I doubt the Getaway will ever be a "tacking machine," regardless of technique.

Of course, when you're smokin' along, you'll want to shift your weight aft. This is self-critiquing. I've caught up to a wave on a broad reach, buried both bows, levered up to 45-deg, and tossed my crewman right into the water. Closest I've come to pitchpoling.

I've also capsized twice--oddly with my reefed sails bent on (see my other posts or web page)--and it happened very suddenly. Still not sure what I did wrong--have survived rougher conditions with the larger sail--but it was a very gusty day. You'll find out a few things very quickly when this happens. Happily, the mast bob works as advertised, which is the good news. But even 350# of dudes pulling on the righting line will NOT get you upright with a 20-mph wind at your back... duh! Only problem is, the suggested method of "swimming" the mast around into the wind just won't cut it--no apparent progress made when I tried (maybe if I'd had fins on). The key is to USE the wind, rather than fight it. After releasing your sheets, get both crewmembers up to the bow of the hull in the water, and stand there until the stern lifts and pivots downwind. NOW shuffle over and grab the righting lines and you'll get the desired result. But after experiencing this, I wouldn't recommend going out there alone in any kind of wind without a righting bag. No way could I (185#) have righted that thing on my own.

Regarding stepping the mast, I'd be interested to hear what you come up with to do it solo. I agree it's not too hard to lift, but stabilizing it and pinning the forestay to the bridle require some technique. Currently I'm using an extra roller on my trailer's mast support that lets my crew use the winch to help me raise the mast. Then I have them hold the mast in place using the halyard while I struggle with the ring-ding... not optimum! I'm going to experiment with using dual quick pins, inserted from opposite directions, to provide both convenience and security via redundancy. Yes, most experienced sailors I know grimace at the idea of using quick pins for standing rigging, but I need to give my wife a break with that halyard! I'm hoping I won't have a catastrophic failure right off the bat, but the day the first pin pops out is the day I go right back to ring-dings.

No advice yet on cleaning things--I've kept my boat covered by a tarp, wash it ocassionally with car soap, and so far haven't had any "tough stains" to deal with. I did buy some marine vinyl cleaner for the tramp, but haven't tried it yet. I'll let you know how it works when I do.

Check out my web page for some "tricking-out" ideas for boat and trailer. Nothing is so cool that it can't be made even cooler by tinkering!

Cheers,

Steve


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Mon May 17, 2004 9:39 am 
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Site Rank - Captain

Joined: Thu Apr 29, 2004 1:26 pm
Posts: 127
Location: San Francisco Bay Area
Excellent post Steve! I think you're right on concerning the CLR issue. I am always careful to position the cooler right behind the mast, but didn't consider the crew's weight. DUH! I will try that Wednesday night, when I run down to the beach. One question pops into mind from the little experience I've had. The hotstick works best when you're sitting aft, giving you much better leverage on the crossbar/tiller/rudder assembly (cos 0 = 1). When you scoot forward, the angle between the hotstick and the crossbar increases (cos 90 = 0). Is there a tradeoff, or a happy medium? The Getaway that I purchased has a mast raising system that I'll try this week at home. The mast raising system I developed for the Wave was just a block attached to the trailer's mast support that allowed me to pull in the main halyard while standing on the tramp, stabilizing the mast. The geometry works out such that it only becomes effective once the mast is past 45 degrees, but at that point, the weight is considerably less, so you can transfer your effort from lifting to hauling. I could keep tension on it to attach the forestay shacke to the bridle. I think a gin pole would need some kind of lateral stabilization if the mast is to be raised while standing on the ground, cranking in the winch, singlehanded.

Another trick I figured out, and you all probably already know this, is to use the main halyard to pull the jib sail cover up over the furled jib. You have to bring the main halyard fore of the shrouds, hook the shackle to the eyelet already installed on the cover, start the zipper, and haul the bitter end of the main halyard, while holding the zipper in hand. This will raise the zippered sail cover to the top of the jib. This only works if you're not dropping the mast and using the main halyard for that procedure. I left my boat dry slipped at my marina over the last two weekends and the jib sail cover procedure worked quite well. I'll let my brain percolate on how to accomplish both by recovering the main halyard.


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Tue May 18, 2004 8:05 am 
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Site Rank - Captain

Joined: Thu Apr 29, 2004 1:26 pm
Posts: 127
Location: San Francisco Bay Area
I noticed that on the aft side of the rear crossbar, there is a small, stainless steel fairlead. What is that for? My Wave had a similar component, but that was where the mainsheet's fiddle block attached. Since the Getaway has the traveler, I was wondering why that's there. My first thought was for towing a dinghy, but since the Getaway can be beached so that you step off on dry land, they're not needed.

BTW, I did a Captain Jack Sparrow this weekend. I sailed up to the beach, where my sailing club was having a big party, in full pirate costume, standing on the hull, with one foot on the wing seat, hotstick extended and in hand, right onto the beach, unsheeted the main and stepped right onto shore. I got a big ovation from the folks ashore. Good times...


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Tue May 18, 2004 9:52 am 
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Joined: Mon Jul 14, 2003 7:11 pm
Posts: 5197
Location: Detroit, MI
The fairlead is where the traveller line is attached.

Image


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Tue May 18, 2004 9:55 am 
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Joined: Thu Apr 29, 2004 1:26 pm
Posts: 127
Location: San Francisco Bay Area
??? The traveler line has a stop knot in one end, which centers the traveler. The other end becomes the main sheet. Plus, I think the line diameter for the main sheet/traveler is too large to go through the fairlead, or at least close enough to have friction. All systems on my boat work just fine and there's no line associated with the fairlead. Am I rigged right?


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Tue May 18, 2004 10:04 am 
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Joined: Thu Apr 29, 2004 1:26 pm
Posts: 127
Location: San Francisco Bay Area
Another question about righting. Will I be able to right the Getaway solo at 190 lbs? I was going to wait for the water to get a little warmer before tipping on purpose. My Wave had a righting line, but the Getaway doesn't. I was also thinking aobut keeping at least a heavy duty trash bag in each storage compartment to add more leverage. I was able to right the Wave solo in three minutes. Unfortunately, I almost got swamped this weekend by a huge power boat, and it got me thinking that I may need to right it before I have the luxury of practicing at my leisure. I've read some about poles and other things to assist this process, but don't want to purchase more gear than I already have to stow. Are righting bags worth the additional cost over a trash bag? I know with the bags, you can rig pulley systems to move the mass around more than just holding the trash bag in one hand. Any thoughts/suggestions would be appreciated. I fully expect Steve aka V-Ray11 to invent a boom that telescopes when a line is pulled, that holds a righting bag on a pulley, but collapses underneath the center of the tramp and pivots to the side needed.


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Tue May 18, 2004 10:36 am 
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Joined: Thu Apr 29, 2004 1:26 pm
Posts: 127
Location: San Francisco Bay Area
My furling line doesn't. I made sure to uncleat the jib sheets, and the drum spins several times, but doesn't take in any sail. I had to manually wrap it around. Is there a way I can manually rewind it? I've done that on my sloop's CDI furler, but the drum is open. The Getaway drum is enclosed. Any suggestions? I'm going to try to address this issue tonight, after practicing with the EZ mast raising system.

Also, the jib furls in such a direction that I have to fold the last several inches of the jib back on itself to clip the clew to that little loop. Is that right? It seems bass-ackwards for some reason.

Where can I go to find some help on trapping out? It looks kind of complicated to mess with when you're sailing. Try it at the beach first? I got a good harness and the trap wires are already installed, albeit tangled around the shrouds currently. Another fix planned for tonight. I imagine you have to anticipate a pretty long tack to trap out. I'm having enough trouble just tacking and switching the side the hotstick is on. TIA!


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Tue May 18, 2004 1:02 pm 
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Joined: Mon Jul 14, 2003 7:11 pm
Posts: 5197
Location: Detroit, MI
The traveller line dead ends at the fairlead, not at the traveller itself. From the traveller cleat, pass the bitter end of the mainsheet through the center of the traveller and then back to the fairlead on the rear crossbar. Pass it through and tie a figure 8 knot.

It gives you a 2:1 purchase on the traveller.

You will almost certainly not be able to right the boat at 190 lbs. Trash bags are not strong enough to hold the amount of water you need. Try one of the bags sold out of the various catalogs (Murray's, Hobie).

I can't help you with the furler. I've been sailing H-16's for 31 years, but I just tried out a Getaway in Mexico this past week. My guess is that the furler line needs a couple of more turns on the drum before you put the jib on.

Practice trapezing on the beach. It's a lot more forgiving :lol:


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Tue May 18, 2004 1:51 pm 
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Joined: Thu Apr 29, 2004 1:26 pm
Posts: 127
Location: San Francisco Bay Area
Thanks, I realized the mechanical advantage generated by doing that after I replied. Sorry to be so thick skulled. I'll rerig it tonight. If nobody's looking maybe I'll practice trapping out tonight too. My cat's in the middle of an apartment complex parking lot. I'll go ahead and get a righting bag. There was one on ebay a few weeks ago, but it sold before I bought the cat, so I didn't bid. I'll see if I can cram a few more wraps in the drum. I've printed your post out and will bring it home with me.


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