First I want to say thanks to all of you who have posted questions here, to those who have responded and to Hobie for hosting this site, which helps all of us. I have read almost every post on the Getaway and Wave forums and have also looked at a number on the open forum. I have gained a wealth of knowledge, laughed a little, and have shook my head in bewilderment at some of the comments I have read.
I am purchasing a 2002 Getaway (can't believe I actually found one in CR) I will be launching from a well protected ramp, that leads to a narrow inlet, with strong tides. I may need a motor but, I intend to try getting in and out without one at first. I plan to do coastal cruising on the Pacific side, with my wife and daughter, 2 to 15 miles distance to a few different protected coves. My intention is not to be more than a 1/2 mile or so offshore with the family on board. I will have a vhf radio and cell on board for additional safty.
I have been on the water my whole life, from high performance power boats to racing mono hulls. My last boat was a 36 cat, that I sold four years ago. My beach cat experience totals about 5 hours. This was on a Wave in Cancun two weeks ago. Prior to this, I had never seen a Wave or Getaway, I guess you could say it was love at first sight.
Because of the information gathered here, I am confident that the hull, mast, comptip, rudders and cross bars are all in good condition. I intend to change all of the standing rigging, running rigging, both tramps and the jib. I will also disassemble the entire boat and go over all of the clevis pins, tangs, bushings, roller furling, rudder assembly's etc. Why not, Hobie has made it so easy to do. I would feel secure knowing that the boat was in the best condition possible. So now the questions.
What is the youngest child, that anyone here has had on beach cat offshore.
I really like the yellow rear tramps that I have seen on line. It appears that they are only available in vinyl coated polyester. I don't mind the water puddling on the tramp, its warm here. My concern is how strong are they (I'm 240 lbs. and I don't want to be re stretching it all of the time) and how much can they contribute to flipping a cat over, as compared to a mesh tramp. Any recommendations as to the best place to have tramps made.
I plan to use a black polypropylene mesh for the front tramp. My concern here is, will this tramp contribute much to pitch poling due to it's tight weave? I like the fact that I should be able to have a really tight tramp, due to it being a bias cut material.
Because of my distance to a Hobie dealer, would I be better to go up one size on the standing rigging, for longer longevity and extra strength, or should I just take a few extra original sets back with me. Does Hobie offer a heaver shroud for the Getaway?
Vern
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