Headsail for Hunter 340

[kcmrock]

I am a new owner of a Hunter 340. I need to buy a new headsail, and am hoping to take advantage of this forum to get some advice / recommendations. This is our second boat; we started from scratch with a Hunter 30T five years ago. We really liked our 30T, but a growing family necessitated the move to a larger boat. We still consider ourselves novice sailors; not into any racing or competition. We just enjoy getting out on the lake and spending time with the family. We would like to purchase a quality sail at a fair price. While any advice is welcome, I have a few specific questions that I would appreciate some feedback on.
1) Size of headsail: The Hunter 340 has the B & R rigging, which utilizes a large mainsail. It looks like the boat came with a 110% genoa. Can anyone confirm that this is the size headsail Hunter recommended for this boat, and does anyone have any opinion on whether this is what I should go with? The sail manufacturers seem to offer many options, and while I am used to the 155% genoa that came with my 30T, I want to get the proper size sail for this boat. It is a furling headsail if that is a factor.
2) Options: Lots and lots of options available, many of which are beyond my knowledge. What would be the basic features / options / sailcloth weight that are MUST haves?
3) Manufacturer: Our 30T came with one year old North sails, which I think has spoiled us. I have priced North, Hyde, Mack, Uhlmann, Precision, and Doyle here on the Hunter site. While I won't go into price comparisons, are there any makers that would be highly recommended, or strongly discouraged? As I am far from expert, I am relying on the manufacturer that I choose to know their stuff and give me the right product. None are located nearby, so having one of them actually look at / measure my boat is not an option.
Hopefully I have provided enough information to get some recommendations from some experienced sailors. Thank you in advance to anyone that takes the time to respond.

 

[Ed Caldwell]

Welcome aboard, and hope you enjoy your H340. Yes, the standard size is a 110% genoa, see the attached page from the owner's manual. Our boat still has the original UK sails, although I need to pull the jib off this spring for some repairs and cleaning. Did you get a nice binder with the boat full of useful information like this?

Make sure you let us know what you end up doing with your jib.

 

[JohnVTX]

Since it is on a furler, I would go with a minimum 130. All those are good manufacturers. I have heard Precision is asian made and some get good results, while some say, not so good. We have a local sail maker here is Austin that does a great job. Bartlett Sails.

 

[Bill19233]

I know you'll love your 340, ours has been nothing but great for us. Hunter says the jib is a 110%, my PHRF certificate measured it at 108%. Every sail is probably a little different. I have a new main and jib on order from Quantum, should be in any day, there's a big race this Saturday, wish I had them for it, but we'll make do. I wanted a bigger jib to help balance the boat, Several people from the local loft measured and looked at the boat and said anything bigger would never set right because of the stays and struts of the B & R rig. I got to believe them, they make more money the bigger the sail, or they didn't want to take the risk of several recuts to make it work. They originally quoted a 125% and took about 5% off the invoice because they're only making a 108%. I would love to know if someone has made a bigger jib work on a 340 or 336.
The boat came with a Doyle Code 0 in a sock, we fly it from a bowsprit with the sheets outside all the standing rigging. It's a little work, but a ton of fun and really makes the boat go and we can carry it inside 60 degrees below 12 knots. I would recommend it instead of a bigger jib.

 

[kcmrock]

Thank you for the replies. Yes Ed, I did get some paperwork with the boat. After looking through it again I came across a sales brochure that appears to confirm that the 110% jib is the standard equipment. Given what Bill's sail maker said after looking at his rigging,even though I have the furler I think I will play it safe and go no bigger than the 110%.

I looks like Hyde sails has given me the best pricing. Anyone have any knowledge / experience with Hyde?

 

[Phil Herring]

Yes, Hyde is a good shop and has a very good US rep.

 

[Ed Caldwell]

Yes Ed, I did get some paperwork with the boat. After looking through it again I came across a sales brochure

You didn't mention the model year of your boat, but there is a large PDF of the owner's manual for what I think is the 1998 model located on this site. Up at the top of this page, click BOAT INFO, scroll down to the 340 page link, then on that page click DOWNLOADS. That PDF shows Z-spar hardware and I think the 1999 model is when Hunter switched to Selden mast and boom.

 

[Jackdaw]

You CAN'T go bigger than 110. It will run into your standing rigging.