Getaway is still in the lineup. No new F18 is in the plan.
T2 is the new name of the Hobie Europe Tatoo. We re-engineered some issues it had before bringing it to the US.
http://www.hobiecat.com/sail/t2/I wrote a summary in our forums that explains it a bit:
Understand that this is a Hobie Cat Europe design that we have done some re-engineering for structural and manufacturing reasons. We changed the way the hulls attach to crossbars, the way the shrouds anchor to the hulls and the width (we made it a bit wider).
Ok, so I have to be honest. I have not yet sailed the T2, but Jacques has and he related a few of his findings to me. That plus specification comparison should give us a feel for where the T2 fits. We have yet to sail these all side by side.
It is definitely faster than a Wave. Has more volume for carrying crew and is more forgiving for pitch poles. And it is a sexy looking boat! I love the Wave, but it is really function over form. The T2 has nicer lines and a more traditional looking balance of sail over hull size.
The weight is close to a Getaway, but the sail area is smaller. I look at the hull shape and modern sail plan as an advantage. You should also be able to double trapeze on the T2, so top end... I believe the T2 will be faster. Light air? A wash or possibly Getaway.
A Hobie 16 it is not. Heavier, less sail. It is a LOT less money and MUCH more durable though.
One thing we struggled with are the replaceable keels. The keels are not on a horizontal plane, so adding wide flat wear strips causes disruption in water flow, so we opted to change that to a shorter keel-width wear strip at the rear of the keel. The boat sails more smoothly without the wear strips in place.
I can't wait to give it a spin and actually sail them side by side, but just looking at the lines of the T2... its going to be a success!