The Hobie 16 is the only catamaran build of fiberglass by Hobie. All the other sailboats built by Hobie are made of roto-molded plastic. Seems fiberglass is becoming a material of the past. Still the Hobie 16 continues to be the largest multihull racing class in the world and also still a favorite by many for recreational sailing, especially in the surf... no catamaran handles better in the surf than the Hobie 16... 50 years and still going strong!
Here are some pics and video of the new 2017 Hobie Getaway. Compared to the older 2016 Getaway, the new boat is one foot longer, has more durable forward trampoline, and the big change is the new wave piercing bows. So the new Getaway is a little faster, slices through waves more efficiently, etc. And sailors that know the old boat say the new boat is sexier looking with its new colors and hulls.
Just this last May I helped a friend with his small Keelboat. We planned to sail from the north east end of Hayden Lake to the West boat launch, about a 7 mile sail. We ended up having to moor the boat at a friends dock because it was getting dark and the boat had no running lights. Some logs were tied to the dock that had been removed from floating freely in the lake, as they were a boating hazard. We tied the boat to the dock with the logs between the boat and the dock with fenders down. Not thinking the logs would be an issue the following day on our return we discovered it was an issue as the boat was half way sunk and if it had not been for the flotation in the boat it would have sunk. It was discovered there was a metal spike in one of the logs, that then put several holes in the hull. The fenders that were suppose to protect the boats hull had slipped on top of the logs thus allowing the logs to rub up against the hull. So the moral of the story, do not tie up to logs because even if they appear smooth, they may not be. We were able to temporary patch the boat and sail it to the launch.
