Hobie Pearl vs. Getaway

I am an old Hobie 16 sailor looking for a new boat. I want good performance in the 18-19' range but don't plan to race. I sail in a shallow bay with 10' tides and narrow, winding channels at low tide. I'd like to avoid dagger boards. I considered the Getaway but the skeg design on a boat that long worries me. How long does it take to complete a tack? Is it slower to tack than the Hobie 16 (which is pretty slow)?

The Hobie Pearl with kickup centerboards seems like an ideal setup for me. The wings and roller-furling jib and spinnaker sound great. I do not understand Hobie USA's reticence to sell it in the US:
https://www.hobiecat.com/community/view ... =9&t=12009

I am leaning towards the Nacra 580 unless the Pearl is available soon.

The Getway is the best choice. We are not importing the "Pearl" to the US.

_________________
Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)

The Getaway tacks very easily. Easier than a 16 for sure.

J

If your worried about performance Jeremy at Surf City has a spin kit for the Getaway. Makes the boat a really nice performer.

_________________
Rich Vilvens
F-18 5150
[email protected]
http://www.sailblogs.com/member/f-185150sailing/

Getaway tacks very easily. It is fast and very forgiving and comfortable. I can sail for several hours in high wind and still find myself wanting to continue, while I an exhausted after one hour on a H16...
The boat has drawbacks however, and I am not sure to understand why Hobie has so many different boats, some available in europe, some in the US, and yet not the one I really want.

I think you somewhat answered your own question "so many different boats" and "yet not the one I really want".

We have to choose the ones that will sell. We can not support the sale of the entire collection of older US models and all the ones that France comes up with. There simply are not enough buyers, so we have to trim the line to the ones that do sell in enough volume to make it work.

I do like your comment about the Getaway! "I can sail for several hours in high wind and still find myself wanting to continue".

_________________
Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)

That makes perfect business sense, and I won't argue with that.
As a buyer though, what bothers me is that I want to upgrade from my Getaway and I don't find a clear path as what to upgrade to.
Tiger is too big for me, as we are small crew.
FX1 is too big solo for me, and its future in the US in unclear.
H16 works but is not appealing to me.

I am looking forward to see the black iCat show up at my dealer...

We aren't importing that model into the USA - if you don't like the FX 1 you already know what you'll think of the I Cat (they are nearly the same boat - only the i cat is more $$$$, and not available here) yes its lighter - but we don't have enough interest in that boat to bring it in at this time.

You, with your wife as crew would kill the fleet on a 16. That's it...I'm signing you up to crew at the next Santa Cruz Regatta.

J

How big are you? I'm 160 lbs and I can right the FXone no problem with a bag.

We need a US built F16. HCE screwed the pooch on the iCat, a bit shorter a little less main, a bit more spinnaker and it'd be legal, and probably competative especially if the weight rumors I've heard are true. I'd bet a HC F16 would be succesfull, especially if the US factory were exporting them to Europe.

Whats screwing the FXone is the price tag. I'd probably have a bunch of converts in this area if it weren't for the $20k you have to shell out for a new one.

I weight 140ish...