Taking the Plunge Hobie Getaway

fxloop....That is a great photo. I've been really impressed with the photo quality of my GoProHero2. We've gotten some amazing photos in the water in the pool videoing the grandkids. Can't wait to mount it on the Getaway. After seeing that picture. I'm ready
to get in the water.....but 19 degrees this morning. Bummer.

You can (and should) go cheap with many things but a good quality life jacket, trap harness, and gloves are a must. If your life jackets are not comfortable you may not wear them all the time and then they are useless. Good sailing gloves are also a must. I personally wear these http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?productId=25998&catalogId=10001&langId=-1&storeId=11151&APPARELCOLOR=BLACK/GRAY&storeNum=51066&subdeptNum=51074&classNum=51075 and have historically gotten about 20 days of hard sailing use (racing 4+ hrs each day) out of them. Keep them dry between uses. Cheap sunglasses are also a must as you will loose them often. I usually have the guys I work with save their dark tinted safety glasses for me when they get a little scratched up. They keep me in a ready supply of glasses for me and my crew.

I'm ready
to get in the water.....but 19 degrees this morning. Bummer.

Water temperature is the key. You always need to be prepared to survive in case you get capsized. This is important for Spring sailing, because water temperature always trails behind air temperature.

Is it really necessary to get a trap harness? I was planning on using the wings and forgoing any trap activities and sailing in light winds initially. Something about a boat on one hull, capsizing, and being wired to an overturning boat gives me pause. I doubt we'll be doing too much early spring sailing but rather mostly in the heat of summer. The words surviving and capsizing in the same sentence ...well, that pretty much tells me I'll be sailing like an "old man" most of the time.

If you are only sailing in the heat of summer you only need a good lifejacket (comfortable), a swim suit and sunglasses. Trap harness is optional, I would wait a season or two until you are comfortable with the boat. Your grandkids and kids will enjoy them.

db51 wrote: Is it really necessary to get a trap harness? I was planning on using the wings and forgoing any trap activities and sailing in light winds initially. Something about a boat on one hull, capsizing, and being wired to an overturning boat gives me pause. I doubt we'll be doing too much early spring sailing but rather mostly in the heat of summer. The words surviving and capsizing in the same sentence ...well, that pretty much tells me I'll be sailing like an "old man" most of the time.

No need to rig trap wires on your Getaway the way you plan to sail, when you get more comfortable and proficient you might want to but maybe not. I don't even have trap wires rigged on my Hobie 18 anymore because I have wings and plenty of weight to hold the boat down without them getting in the way.

On the PFD issue I would highly recommend getting the (relatively expensive) kayak style PFD's, you will be a lot more comfortable and have a greater range of motion. Lot's of newbies make the mistake of grabbing a "ski vest" style "life jacket" off the shelf at wall-mart and then can't stand to wear it in the heat of the summer.

The other gear (besides gloves) that I insist on is shoes, in this case you can use the cheap "water sock" type shoes available lots of places, unless you have size 16 feet like I do then it's a little harder to find them.

Some people sail barefoot all the time but for me there are too many ways to hurt/cut feet on the beach and on the boat.

Don't take the horror stories you hear too much to heart, "bad times make good stories" is a a truism, so you don't hear about the 95% good times.

Get your wife something like these from Solquist and Kokatat.

Kids PFD's
http://www.stohlquist.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6&Itemid=73

Womens gear
http://kokatat.com/gender/womens.html

Just an update. Went to St. Louis for my grandson's Baptism Sunday. Saturday was beautiful and 58 degrees. The son-in-law and 8 year old grandson went with me to St. Louis Sail and Paddle to look at the boat and gather some information. Really nice folks there at the place and they were very helpful. Shop manager came out and went through rigging and answered plenty of questions.

I really liked the looks of the boat in person. They had a Hobie 16 set up right next to it. SWEET! lol. The Getway looks like the perfect boat for us, plenty of room and rugged. The hulls looked indestructible, but that 16 was sleek and sexy!

The Grandson seemed pretty much ready to go. He couldn't figure out why we weren't hooking it to the F250 and pulling it home.
Wife seems to be ready for the adventure as well. We took some videos and sales brochures to her....her only question was "How much does it cost?" lol.. What the ???? Can you really put a price on that kind of entertainment and bonding?

Her eyes lit up when I told her she could personally keep the $5K difference between the Hobie set-up and the bass boad I just sold to use at her discretion.

I'm wiring the money on Monday but told them I would be picking it up probably near the end of April or May. I left St. Louis at noon in a blizzard with 12" of wet heavy snow on the ground. Just got home to 8-10" here.

Take care and thank you for all the infomation, encouragement, warnings,, and links.

Dave

This is depressing. Our spring weather SUCKS down here. By now we should normally have at least half our crops planted. Haven't even started. COLD. RAIN every other DAY! Flash Flooding! No end in sight. We'll be luck to get started by late May which isn't good. In fact, I'm so down in the dumps I'm having second thoughts about the Hobie Getaway. Hard to get enthused about sailing when the nightime temps for the next week could be in the 30's.

I shouldn't be whining....but I am a farmer. It could be snowing.

Instead of sailing, my guess I'll be sitting in a tractor planting until late July.

Edited by db51 on Apr 28, 2013 - 01:24 PM.

buy a cheap boat and get out a few times this year anyway...no better time than the present to get started. that will get your mojo working!

You are probably right. I don't think the "family sailing" is going to be happening. The wife and I probably would have time to take it out a few times. My guess is it will be some solo sailing for starters. Have been looking this one over in the classified....distance is the biggest drawback.

http://www.thebeachcats.com/classifieds/catamarans/p12671-new-hobie-14-turbo.html

Edited by db51 on Apr 28, 2013 - 01:22 PM.

wow! that's not what i mean by cheap!...

i'm talking about something more like this http://www.thebeachcats.com/classifieds/catamarans/p12668-prindle-16.html
you can get a real nice used cat for around 2 grand with lots of extras...learn on it this year(without worring about crashing into stuff) and sell it later for what you paid...then get the next generation when you feel more confident. you might need the extra cash for tractor parts! 😀

2nd that WOW! I have a Prindle 15 I am getting ready to put on the Classifieds, going to list it for $2400, have re-done the boat from bow to stern. It is a uni-rig, meaning it has a mainsail only, but I have a jib sail for it along with the Prindle jib block setup, so you can sail it both ways, easy to step the mast single handed. And I'm only 3 hrs away from you, would be willing to bring the P15 out to Carlyle and throw in a couple hrs rigging the boat and show you how to sail it. I also have a P16 with Smythe sails if you want something a little bigger.

PM me if interested

R.

db51 wrote: This is depressing. Our spring weather SUCKS down here. By now we should normally have at least half our crops planted. Haven't even started. COLD. RAIN every other DAY! Flash Flooding! No end in sight. We'll be luck to get started by late May which isn't good. In fact, I'm so down in the dumps I'm having second thoughts about the Hobie Getaway. Hard to get enthused about sailing when the nightime temps for the next week could be in the 30's.

I shouldn't be whining....but I am a farmer. It could be snowing.

Instead of sailing, my guess I'll be sitting in a tractor planting until late July.Edited by db51 on Apr 28, 2013 - 01:24 PM.

I live in manitoba canada and bought a boat over the winter and am going to be lucky to sail by end of may. However you should not so simply give up on something you were so excited about! Make the effort for you and your wife to go out and pretty soon you'll have her asking you to go out there. Worked with my gf and she loved our old cat and i'm sure she'lll love this one too, just have to put in the time. You seemed like you would be a great sailer i hope we didn't lose you.
Brady K.

Thanks for the encouiragement. It is 80 degrees here today....but heavy rain forcast for the next two weeks...so farming is OUT! Sailing is IN! lmao. I got your e-mail renovator.......I'm thinking I might take you up on the offer. I looked at the pictures of your renovation....I'll get back with you soon.

Dave

My Plan B involves buying a new boat when I go to Gulf Shores for 10 days in July....sailing it down there and hauling it home....but then I'd just have a bunch of bugs to clean off the hulls when I got back.

The thing you have to remember in gulf shores is the surf you have to contend with if launching on the beach. It probably would be a good idea to head over and check out key sailing in Pensacola for a day though.. one of the biggest cat dealers around.

if your buying a boat this summer then you just need to find someone to sail with in the mean time...get some time on the boat and then think about the boat you want.