The barber hauler works "as advertised" on my AI. I can now sip my cold drink while lazily coasting under the gentle breeze
instead of having to hand hold the clew!
I haven't done many mods to the Getaway aside from breaking the mast base while trying to rig a lever system so that my wife can raise the mast by herself if I'm incapacitated. This actually happened last year when I broke a toe and had to lower the mast to bring the boat back home. While I can raise and lower the mast in normal conditions, the mast is much too heavy for her, and ever since I've been trying to rig a system with a winch.
Because the Getaway mast must rotate on its way up and down, you can't easily use the forestay to pull with a winch. I have since bought an EZ-Step system where the gin pole forces the mast to stay sideways. However, due to the inclement weather and the holidays, I haven't tried it yet.
Other than that, I mounted a Cheata bracket and Minn Kota 30 electric motor, with a small 32Ah battery strapped on the starboard hull. It moves the boat nicely when the wind fails completely.
I attached a small block and tackle with a jam cleat to the tack of the main so that when I raise the main I only have to snap the bottom pulley to the mast cleat and cinch the main down. The additional purchase provided by the block and tackle make it much easier to adjust the tension on the main luff.
I was using a solar-powered garden light stuck in the hole through the mast float to provide some navigation light at night. However, the amount of light is minimal, and I'll probably abandon this idea. A flash light shining on the sail (assuming there is wind) is much more visible.
I'm still looking for the perfect cup holder to attach either at the end or on the outside of the wings. Most holders I've found use the tapered slot system common on larger boats, but I fear this is much too fragile on a boat like the Getaway. If anyone has found a good solution, please let us know.
I'd love it if Hobie developed a spi for the Getaway. I don't feel safe or competent jury-rigging such a system considering the very significant forces at play when flying a spi. I've gotten in enough troubles with professionally-made spi system (albeit on much larger boats), and I guess I'm getting less foolish as years accumulate!
Oh, one cute thing I added to my boat for cases when land-lubbers or clueless friends want to help rig it are bands of green and red electrical tape at the bottom of the shrouds, on the tillers and tiller cross-bar and everywhere else where differentiating between port and starboard is important. With these color coding tapes, all they need to do is match the colors! This is especially handy to keep them from reversing the rudders.
Hope this helps you increase your enjoyment of this great boat.