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Flush with the success of the Hobie Wave, California-based Hobie Cat has progressed to the next level with their latest rotomolded creation, the 16-foot, 7-inch Greg Ketterman—designed, built for fun Hobie Getaway. It’s bigger, faster, and no less colorful than the Wave. It’s also more durable, has a larger load-carrying capacity, and has more trampoline space than the benchmark Hobie 16.
The Getaway’s hulls cut efficiently through the water. Small keels on each hull and 25-inch-deep elliptical kick-up rudders provide control and windward ability. A 25-foot rotating anodized aluminum mast (without a boom) carries Hobie’s signature rainbow-colored, full-batten main; with the roller-furling jib, sail area totals a respectable 180 square feet.
The Getaway can accommodate six adults for sailing and/or lounging on the two trampolines (there’s a second trampoline strung between the bows forward of the mast). Pack a lunch and drinks for all six in the built-in cooler and storage compartments in each hull, or drop the group off at the beach and take off on a speed mission with just one crew on the optional trapeze; singlehanding is also a breeze. If you capsize, a standard masthead float will keep the boat from turtling, and a line tied to both ends of the forward cross beam makes the cat easy to right.
During my test sail in flat water off Annapolis, Maryland, I found the Getaway effectively combines the three essential ingredients many look for in a beach cat: durability (the hulls are virtually indestructible); ease of sailing (a flick of the tiller bar locks the rudders in place, and a pull on the main- and jibsheets gets the boat going); and performance (the cat was quick and responsive in the light sea breeze). If you want to stay dry the Getaway will take care of you in light air, but if you don’t mind hiking and getting wet when the breeze picks up, the Getaway has speed to burn. The price of $5,495 includes full-batten main, roller-furling jib, trampolines, masthead float, and cooler/storage compartments. Hobie Catamarans, tel. 800-462-4349, http://www.hobiecat.com.–Bill Springer
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