The Hobie Getaway is much more buoyant. It also has twice as much space for people and stuff. With my 16 I was always sailing from the beach. I'd have to come back for lunch, packing a few paddles or coolers wasn't practical. The getaway lets us stay on the lake all day, stopping to swim, dive off of the wings or fish. I also sail with my wife and 3 kids (11, 9 and 6), the getaway is less inclined to pitch and all of the space is really necessary. The furling jib is nice, when I need less sail, i can easily roll up the jib. My 16 had a jib but it didn't furl. I also like the built in coolers (wish they where bigger) and the new rudder designs.
The wings on the getaway make it very comfortable to sail. I had wings on my 17, but they where a pain to set up.
But... you can't go wrong either way. If I had the space I would have kept all of my hobies.
Here is my favorite thing about each boat.
-14' easy to sail solo and lite.
-16' great ride for 2 and no dagger boards to hassle with.
-17' fast solo, wings make a comfy ride.
-Getaway, great ride for a family, versatile and fast.
Here's my least favorite thing about each.
-14' two small for two adults
-16' no wings (i really like wings
)
-17' dagger boards jammed easy, the main sail was difficult to lock when raising and it didn't have much in the way of buoyancy.
-Getaway plastic hulls, only because they can't be repaired.
Hope this helps, have fun.