Getaway with 16' mast?

Friend of mine has a hobie 16 and found a getaway hull for sale. My question is will the mast and rigging from the 16' work on the getaway???

It is problematic. The mast base is not compatible for one.

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

Somewhere else on this list someone broke their Getaway mast and replaced it with a 16 mast since they are ubiquitous and cheaper than a new Getaway mast. He provided some details but it boiled down to taking parts off the broken Getaway mast and putting them on the 16 mast--I think he also cut the 16 mast down so the existing Getaway shrouds would work.

I'm sure it can be done if you are willing to make changes to either the mast or boat or both. It'd be best to hire professional help from a rigger if you have never done anything similar before.

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R/Thom
SeaRail 19
Triak
BMW C600
Formerly Getaway with Custom Spinnakers
Formerly raced F24 Mk II

Hi. I replaced my getaway mast with a 30 year old Hobie 16 mast after the getaway mast broke. The mast from the H16 was much cheaper than just buying the top part of the getaway mast. It is also one solid piece, which I prefer.

Anyway, I did exactly what tpdavis473 said. The mast won't work with the H16 or Getaway rigging without modification. The H16 shrouds are too long and the Getaway shrouds are too short. So, you either have to trim the mast or move the tang. I decided to cut the mast base because moving the tang is a pain and would leave a bunch of holes in the mast. I cut about 6 inches off the bottom (the exact amount I cut was found by measuring the Getaway mast from base to tang and then cut the H16 mast to be exactly the same) Next, I had to switch the base of the mast. Optionally, you could change the mast receiver on the cross bar, but I didn't want to modify my boat in case the H16 mast didn't work out. The mast base is only attached by a couple of rivets, so it is easy to remove. The shape of the H16 mast and Getaway mast was slightly different, so I had to squeeze the H16 mast just a little in my vice to get the base in. Next, I moved all of the other hardware and Bob from the Getaway mast to the H16 mast. The top of the H16 mast is different than the Getaway, so attaching the Bob is slightly different. You can find videos on youtube that show how to do this. It is easy and requires just a few dollars of hardware.

So, with all of that, my new mast works great. It is about 9 inches taller than the old one, so you will either have the sail higher or have to make some adjustments to the main halyard. I don't particularly care for the higher sail as it makes the boat more "tippy".

You could just as easily left the mast the same H16 length and used the Getaway shrouds with extenders made from high tech line. But that'd leave you with an even taller mast and even more tippy--but tippy is pretty easy to control with the traveler, right? And it'd be nice to have that extra pole in light wind days. And in big wind you can use a halyard extension to lower the main again. The point being that boats are pretty malleable if you are willing to play with them.

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R/Thom
SeaRail 19
Triak
BMW C600
Formerly Getaway with Custom Spinnakers
Formerly raced F24 Mk II

as long as you are cutting the bottom of the mast why not cut the top also so you have a correct length mast, If I remember correctly the top piece is also only held on by a couple of rivits so easy fix

Yes, that is true. There is also the hook for the main halyard that would need to be moved down. I opted not to do this for now because I don't see the extra length at the top as a big problem. At one point I was thinking I might want to get a custom sail made that would be a little larger, but from a brief investigation it looked like that would be pretty costly. I may still decide to shorten the mast later, or keep it longer to get the sail higher on light wind days (as suggested by tpdavis473). I will probably wait until the end of the season and make a decision then.

Has anyone ever priced a carbon fiber mast? I know a lot of the newer high performance boats use them, and a blank mast layup that you transfer existing hardware to would be a nice setup.

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Yet another Bob!
"Firefly" - 2012 Hobie Getaway with wings and spinnaker
"Sparky" - 1978 Sunfish (OK, it's not a Hobie, but it's a fun little craft)
Too many canoes and kayaks

A-class carbon masts are around $3K for a bare tube... I saw Marstrom Tornado rigs for new upward of $6K but I think that was the fully rigged stick, with fittings and labor. Then add shipping.

Randii

A carbon mast would probably be counterproductive depending on the layup of the fibers, of course. The advantage of carbon vs aluminum is mostly stiffness per weight. Getaway mast in particular is supposed to be a noodle to depower the mainsail. Less weight would be nice, but I don't think it'd save much given the short Getaway mast. And, as Randii pointed out, you'd spend more on the mast than the boat is worth.

_________________
R/Thom
SeaRail 19
Triak
BMW C600
Formerly Getaway with Custom Spinnakers
Formerly raced F24 Mk II