J/30 Class Association Forums J/30 Forum The Boat, Sails and Equipment Rig Tune

Rob - If it works for your boat speed use it. The chart on the Loos site suggests that for 1/4" wire breaking strength is 8200 lbs, and there is a warning not to exceed 25% breaking strength (2050 lbs) in the paragraphs below. As long as the pole stays in the hole, you are safe.

As others have pointed out, there is no single "correct" tune. The tension will change as the prevailing wind conditions do. You need to play with it. Go out and try some settings and compare boat speed and pointing angle for conditions of wind speed and chop. Record what you get then make the adjustments based on that knowledge. I would say that for base settings you mention, you are way too tight for light air. You actually want some mast sag at the lowers in light air.

This from the UK tuning guide : Simply stated, the tighter the overall rig tension, the greater the headstay tension; as long as the tension is nearly equal on uppers and lowers. In lighter air, when more sag is desirable, ease both shrouds slightly, and ease the lower shrouds more than the uppers to allow for more pre-bend. In heavier air, use more tension (2000 lbs) on both; the lowers should be as tight or tighter than the uppers to reduce pre-bend.

Another tuning guide for reference:
Banks Sails tuning guide