anyone here know Hobies?

[Canibul]

speaking of small boats, I am interested in a beach cat as a toy. I was thinking Hobie 16, then looked at their site for the first time in years and see this "Getaway" model. It looks pretty interesting, and its lots cheaper than the 16. Does anyone here have any opinions or better yet, experience, with these newer rotomolded Hobies? I have sailed one of their "Wave" models and of course everyone knows the 16.

[Alan Wheeler]

I used to have a paper tiger.
I have also sailed a "real" hobie 16 and they are light and extremely fast and fun. I have NOT sailed the rotomould version, although I have seen one on a trailer. That is as close to it as I have come. But having played with other rotomoulded boats, I wonder if these things would be as fun as the "real" 16. Rotomould tends to be very heavey so as it remains rigid. So I wonder if these rotomoulds are as fast and nimbal as the glass version.
But not sure as I have not sailed the plastic one.

[Gator81]

I'm about like you, Canibul - sailed a "Wave" on a weekend, and own and regularly sail my old 16. All I know about the "Getaway" is what I see in the pictures...

The Hobie site says it "comfortably accomodates six adults". I find that difficult to believe for a 16'7" boat. I have taken my 16 out many times with 4 adults aboard, and it will sail but rather piggishly. I do like the forward tramp on the Getaway, but if you're doing any serious sailing, you wouldn't want much weight up there or you'd risk pitchpoling. The roller furling jib is nice, but you can convert a standard 16 to a roller if you want.

We have a ton of fun on the 16. I like to take my daughter and her friends out on it. The little kids stay on the tramp, and the older ones like to ride the forward hulls, especially if I can find some boat wakes to shoot over.

Having bought my 16 in so-so shape for less than $1000, and then put maybe another $1000 into a new tramp, various rigging, and trailer repairs, I am convinced that just about anybody can have a lot of fun with family and kids on a 16 without hurting the budget. The thing is, there are a kazillion of them out there for sale - it's the world's most common sailboat! Spare parts and upgrades are easy to get and not expensive.

I was not very impressed with the Wave. It was a cute little boat, easily handled, hard to get in trouble with. Slow and bobby, like a couple of plastic soda bottles with a sail. The Getaway looks a lot more like a real sailboat, like maybe they were trying to recreate the magic of the 16 in a rotomolded version.

Question: If you bang into a rock or otherwise get a hole in your rotomolded hull, how do you fix it? When my 16's hull edges (keels) got too thin from too many years of being dragged on and off beaches, I added about a half-inch back onto them with epoxy resin. A grinder to shape them, and some sand paper, and we're back in business.

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha Canibul,
Our club has a 14 and a Get-away. Our members prefer the Get-away because they pile more newbes aboard and because it out performs the 14 with 2 or 3 aboard. It does not perform as well as the old glass 16s because it is a little bit heavier but it is really maintenance free. It comes close but not quite as fast. Does not ding up nearly so fast and retains its good looks longer.
The rotomold plastic can be welded if it gets holed. A rotomold kayak repairman can show you how.
I'm a fiberglass monohull afficienado myself but if I had the choice of saving a little money with the Get-away vs oldstyle 16 I would.
Kind Regards,
JohnL

[Canibul]

All good points, for sure. I started this looking for the FRP 16, the old classic, but then ran across this Getaway. Ramming into rocks and coral heads is a real issue here. I dont know about the Hobie design, but I used to fix holes in a rotomolded kayak. Would use hot iron to put patch inside the hull, then on high heat to smooth over the external mark. It took a heck of an impact with a really sharp object to punch a hole in it, though. Usually it just popped in and out and said 'boing". Be interesting to see the boingability co-efficient of the Hobies.

The hot iron method of repair meant it was an immediate fix, instead of dealing with sandpaper, mixing epoxy, cure time, sanding, gelcoat, etc. damned cheap, too.

I was thinking the Getaway looks like a good boat for up to 4 adults with a days worth of coolers. Has two coolers built in, in fact. And another very real issue is that the boat lists for $ 2200 less than the FRP 16. I agree that it looks dicey for six people. Especially when I look like a 3/4 size Bob Bitchin with a shaved head. But the hulls are more rounded in cross section, whereas the old 16 has the assymetrical hulls to dig in without keels. the Roto model has some sort of shallow keels.

Where I live UV is a real factor. I suspect the plastic might handle that better.
Still, you have a good point about used 16's. Lots of them around. Getaway only been out something like five years.

Interesting that by todays standards, it would be a 17.