Car topping with the Getaway

I was just wondering if you can car top a getaway. Does anyone know? Thanks.

I guess you probably COULD... it'd be interesting anyway. What kind of car? I think that would make a huge difference. If you built some sort of rig for a big truck or something... I'd have to say "no" to a VW or its like.

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Warm regards,

Jim



"A little crazy but with big balls."

I was thinking about using my Suburban. Or maybe I could put on top of my Travel trailer. Can you take the Getaway apart like a Wave and if so how hard is it. Thanks

No idea about taking it apart, but the boat ust weigh quite a bt; I expect you'd need a davit or something to get it up there.

_________________
Warm regards,

Jim



"A little crazy but with big balls."

The local Hobie dealer here told me that, although the lit says you can, he doesn't even recommend cartopping the Wave!! Every single Wave he's sold the customer has either bought a trailer or came back later and bought one.

If it's too tough to cartop a Wave, I wouldn't even think about trying to do this with a Getaway.

Just my two-cents worth...

Fair Winds,
Nick
1978 H16 "Burt the Cat"

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1978 H16 "Burt The Cat"

The Getaway weighs 390 pounds, which would take four healthy people to lift over their heads onto a Suburban assembled. The Getaway is held together by sliding the trampline bolt ropes through tracks on the insides of the hulls, and front and rear crossbars, which are slid through holes in the hulls. The one piece trampoline is then tightened by lacing the center expansion section through grommets. I have no idea how that's done, and from assembling my Wave several times, I can only extrapolate that the Getaway would be an order of magnitude more difficult once, much less any time you want to go sailing. Of course, I'm sitting at the office, far away from my Getaway, where I can't see the actual details. I'm just envisioning all of this from memory, but I would think that trying to gett all four sides of the tramp in their corresponding tracks would be almost overwhelmingly difficult. It's obviously possible, but it's probably a huge deterrent. It takes me 20 minutes to rig my Getaway, then another 10 to launch, and that's if I'm busting my butt, not having a beer or chatting. I think there's a reason that everybody I've ever known has a trailer under their Getaway, but it's a free country. I put my Wave in the back of my pickup and assembled it a few times before I got the backordered trailer. I REALLY like having a trailer. Good luck and let us know how it works out. I'll look at my Getaway tonight with an eye for disassembly and post anything I can think of.

But man would I love to see a Getaway on top of a Suburban!

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Warm regards,

Jim



"A little crazy but with big balls."

We used to Vantop the Hobie 18 when I worked for a dealer in San Diego. Full sized cargo van with a "THE" rack that used Quick-N-Easy gutter brackets. It had two Quick-N-Easy brackets per corner (8 gutter mount Quick-N-Easy brackets). Plenty strong for a 400 lb Hobie 18. We could also carry 2 boats in boxes (4 boxes) up there. I used to go up to the factory with a trailer and pick up about 7 boats and masts. Two boats (in boxes) on the rack and all of the masts up there and another 5 boats in boxes on a trailer. Once a week... all summer long. We would go to regattas with a 16 on the roof and two stacked on a trailer. There was a family (Shear's) in Utah that would do the same... for just about every west coast weekend regatta. Dave Shear still works for the Salt Lake City dealer.

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

Not as impressive as a Getaway on, say, a PT Cruiser, or an MG Midget

We considered car topping our 16 on a Chevy Eurosport wagon so that we could tow a pop-up camper, but we couldn't get the doors open and had to climb in the rear hatch or in the windows I would love to have seen Matt's set up loaded and on the go- any photos?

Here's an idea: has anybody ever seen a way to carry a hobie on top of a pop-up camper? HMMM watch out world, I just got an idea...

I was just going to say that a pop-top camper usually has a nice, flat top, AC notwithstanding. I've seen contoured racks to hold hulls before made out of 2x8's. Plus, it's probably a lot easier to lift the boat to the top of the camper than the tow vehicle. What crazy, catamaran sailing obsessed, traveling regatta participating, sailors are willing to do to get several boats to a distant destination on the weekends might be a little different than your average person

I was wondering about the "THE" rack. Do you have any more information on one? Did you haul the boat(s) assembled? If so how did you get them on top of the van? Just wondering.

THE was a trailer builder years ago. Not sure if they are around anymore. The rack was square box tubing welded with drop down for the keels to be about a foot lower than the racks cross bars. Rollers in the back and pads up front. I'll try to illustrate:



Yes we hauled assembled boats. Lifted the bows onto the rollers then shoved them up and onto the racks. Usually a 4 person job.

There was a guy (Nobel Warram?) that hauled a 16 around like this on top of a CJ5 Jeep YEARS ago. You also should have seen Dan Ketterman tow his Hobie 20 behind an old MG.