Look for used. As a newbie, I think you need to concern yourself with learning to sail the boat first. If you already have sails: use them. If not, look around for a used set of Hobie sails. Cat Sailor, the Beachcats, Small Craft Advisories, Tackle Shack, etc. are places to look. They are not always easy to find (or necessarily inexpensive) but if you were to pitch pole and tear up a brand new set of sails, I think you would be very upset. Sail an old set for a year and then look at new.

Having said that, I'll try to answer your questions. Replacement sails are just the sails. Battens are additional, although the sailmaker can/will supply them. Hobie makes a very nice sail and I would evaluate price/quality of custom sails vs. the stock product. The 5.6 oz. Dacron provides good durability and, I suspect, performance as well. Hobie does offer custom sail colors. The H16 jib has been redesigned recently. I'm not sure how this will effect use of the Seaway jib cleat/car vs. a low profile system. I don't think it could hurt but perhaps Matt Miller or another expert could chime in.

With custom sails you can go local or mail order. Local lofts can often give you better pricing. May or may not be true in Canada these days. Make sure the loft has experience with catamaran sails and using an existing set is best for getting dimension measurements, etc. For mail order, Whirlwind, Sabre and Calvert are all experienced catamaran sailmakers (I probably forgot a few too).

The Hobie battens seem to have an unlimited lifespan as long as they do not start to splinter. I would not hesitate to reuse them. However, if you have any of the crappy white plastic batten caps, get rid of them. Get a complete set of the black Delrin caps (leach and luff).