J/30 Class Association Forums J/30 Forum The Boat, Sails and Equipment Shroud tension

I bought a J-30 last fall and after a long spring of repairs and updates finally got in the water and to tuning the rig for the first time. I used the Banks Sails Guide on the J-30 site as a reference, but got nervous about the shroud tensions it specifies: 44-45 on Loos for uppers and 45-46 on Loos for lowers. These numbers are off the charts on the Loos gauge for loads for 1/4 wire and seem to require tightening the shrouds until they do not deflect at all under Loos gauge tension. Am I missing something, or is it really recomended that the shrouds be this tight?

I have hull #205 in Chicago. Our standard setting is 45 on the uppers, and 44.5 on the lowers. Yes, its off the scale, but that's what we use.

We top out at 42/43 on the loos gauge (spring loaded type). I assume the 44 settings are for heavy air only?

For what it's worth, I have a Loos Gauge with a scale to 50. It is the kind with two aluminum plates, about 2.5" wide and 10" long, fastened together at the bottom, but not at the top. The tension is measured by the amount of force required to separate the plates a certain distance (the scale) at the top when the bottom is anchored parallel to the shroud.

I tune to 45 uppers and 46 lowers for most conditions and have Banks sails.

same here 45 44 on the loos gauge

its tight.lol

Thanks Thorsten

Thanks to everyone for the replies. This forum is a great resource to those of us who are new to the boat. I have learned a lot from the archives and much appreciate being able to ask questions as well.

FYI-the two metal plates version of the Loos is supposed to be a bit less accurate than the spring loaded version.
Make sure that when the gauge is unloaded, the two plates come tightly together. I had a tuning gauge that was bent when I first bought my boat, and I didn't realize it. All my settings were consequently way off! (I figured that out at my first North Americans, where I won the pin in the first start, only to watch all the boats around me point 10 degrees higher off the line. Ouch!)