Hunter 290
Description
The Hunter 290 is a compact, high-volume coastal cruising sloop designed by the Hunter Design Team and built by Hunter Marine from 1999 to 2001, with approximately 100-150 hulls produced—positioning it as a value-packed evolution of the Hunter 30, ideal for couples or small families on bay sails, gunkholing, or light offshore hops in protected waters like the Chesapeake or Florida Keys. Featuring a beamy hull with a fin keel and spade rudder for responsive handling, a powerful B&R backstayless rig with swept spreaders for unobstructed tacking, and a walk-through transom for easy boarding, it's optimized for shorthanded cruising while offering surprising interior space that sleeps 4-5 with 6'2" headroom. Hand-laid fiberglass construction (solid hull, balsa-cored deck) ensures durability, though it's best suited for day-boating or weekends rather than extended bluewater due to its light displacement and modest righting capability.
Construction Details
| Designer | Hunter Marine |
|---|---|
| Builder | Hunter Marine |
| Length | 28.580 ft |
| LOA | 28.580 ft |
| LWL | 26.920 ft |
| Beam | 10.750 ft |
| Max Draft | 5.330 ft |
The standard boat dimensions
| i | 32 ft |
|---|---|
| j | 11 ft |
| p | 29.08 ft |
| e | 12 ft |
| p2 | - |
| e2 | - |
| i2 | - |
| j2 | - |
| I | J | P | E | P2 | E2 | I2 | J2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 32 ft | 11 ft | 29.08 ft | 12 ft | - | - | - | - |
Sails
| Sail Type | MAINSAIL |
|---|---|
| Luff | * 29.08 ft - (8864 mm) |
| Foot | * 12 ft - (3658 mm) |
| Leech | * 30.93 ft - (9427 mm) |
| Tack Angle | * 88 ° |
| Diagonal | * 31.07 ft - (9470 mm) |
| Head (inches) | * 4.5 in - (114 mm) |
| Area | * 179.748 ft² |
| Sail Type | JIBSAIL |
|---|---|
| Luff | * 27.07 ft - (8251 mm) |
| Foot | * 14.75 ft - (4496 mm) |
| Leech | * 23.23 ft - (7081 mm) |
| Percentage LP | * 115 % |
| Length Perpendicular | * 12.65 ft - (3856 mm) |
| Deck Angle | * 12 ° |
| Area | * 171.21 ft² |
| Sail Type | GENOA |
|---|---|
| Luff | * 32.15 ft - (9799 mm) |
| Foot | * 17.92 ft - (5462 mm) |
| Leech | * 30.09 ft - (9171 mm) |
| Percentage LP | * 150 % |
| Length Perpendicular | * 16.5 ft - (5029 mm) |
| Deck Angle | * 4 ° |
| Area | * 265.26 ft² |
| Sail Type | SPINNAKER |
|---|---|
| Stays | * 32.15 ft - (9799 mm) |
| MidGirth | * 19.8 ft - (6035 mm) |
| Foot | * 19.8 ft - (6035 mm) |
| Perc LP | * 180 % |
| Area | * 541 ft² |
Disclaimer. Boats are not all the same -- even when produced in the same factory of the same model. Sailrite does its best to publish accurate dimensions, but we often find it worthwhile to have our customers measure their boats carefully before we produce kits for them. You should take the same precautions, especially when the data is not from Sailrite. The information on this site is not guaranteed to be accurate. Sailrite offers this content as a service to our community, but takes no responsibility for the reliability of the data provided.