Hi Folks,
Lurking for a year; first post.
I bought a 2008 Getaway last year and I'm having a blast with it. I have done a few things with it that some of you may be interested in.
First, I built a trailer that carries the Getaway, two ATVs, four mountain bikes, two kayaks, and a windsurfer. We call it "The Toy Box." It has a telescoping forward mast crutch that extends 4' to allow us to pull it behind our motorhome. Here it is with just the Hobie and ATVs:
I built the sail tube out of 12" irrigation pipe ($50) and two wastebasket lids from Walmart ($10).
Since I wanted to use the ATVs or flatbed trailer without the boat periodically, I built an electric hoist in my garage that lifts the boat from the trailer and suspends it from the ceiling.
I used a 110V electric winch from Harbor Freight (
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=44006) connected through pulleys to four hoisting lines. The pulleys are shackled to half chain links welded to two transversely mounted 1" square steel tubes, which, in turn, are lag screwed to the ceiling trusses. All lines run through co-located pulleys mounted in the middle of the forward tube so that all hoisting lines travel the same distance.
I use soft nylon lead rope (for horses, 1,100 lb. working load) to sling under the boat and connect to the hoisting lines. If I moved the trailer, I could easily park a car under the boat. The whole setup cost about $175 and took about four hours to construct.
Since I couldn't right the boat with my 175 lbs., I built a righting pole from half of a discarded windsurfer mast. I attached a pair of opposing stainless deck eyes from West Marine to the fat end and another pair about three-fourths of the length toward the tip, then used nylon river straps to lash to the factory righting line attach points at the front corners:
The loose end is held up in place to the tramp lacing with a short river strap. To use, I release the short strap and swing the pole 90° so it looks like an extension of the mast below the boat. Then, I loosen the lower black strap and tighten the upper black strap (while standing on the lower hull) to cant the pole up about 20° toward the upper hull. Then, just step off the lower hull and hang from the pole. Up she comes. When the boat starts to move forward, the pole swings up under the rear crossbar and I grab the trailing short strap and re-lash to the tramp lacing.
I lost patience with the pin and ring clips for attaching the jib on my first outing. I replaced the factory jib pin with an aerospace-grade, mil-spec Jergens Kwik-Lok quick-release pin (
http://www.jergensinc.com). These are quick and easy and incredibly strong (9,200 lbs. shear vs. less than 7,000 lbs. strength of the jib cable). They are expensive (about $30) but worth it.
I replaced the factory tiller stick with a telescoping paint roller extension from Home Depot. This cost about $10 and works great. I just drilled a hole in the end, filed to fit, and installed in the factory bracket with a Jergens quick release pin. This is far superior to the factory fiberglass stick.
Finally, after an unintended swim off the back of the wing seat, leaving my family (who didn't know how to sail) disappearing into the sunset (while I shouted instructions for releasing the sheets and turning into the wind), I installed hiking straps at the outer edges of the tramp, right next to the hulls. I used the same webbing and grommets as the factory so they look like original equipment and they work great -- nice for when it's really blowing!
I'd be happy post or send additional pictures or details if anyone is interested.
Gordon