Can someone please tell me what Loos Gauge setting I should use to tighten the diamond wires on my Nacra F18? I can’t seem to find this information in the manual or elsewhere. Thanks a lot.

There are two kinds of Loos guage. One has two wheels on it an the other does not. Each of them shows different numbers for same tension. I think there are different masts on the European F18 and the American F18. I am not mistaking the Infusion by the way. I believe the American version is slightly softer. As a "throw it out there" round number to use start at about 600 lbs. I think that is 45 on the no wheeled Loos guage. There is all kinds of "it depends" as well: spreader rake, weight you sail with, how the mast bends with the tension.

Hope this helps for starters,
Dan

Some people have a tendancy to speak in terms of the number on their loos gauge when they should really talk about pounds (like Dan correctly did). There are two versions of the Nacra F18 mast (that's two versions BEFORE the infusion wing mast). The early Nacra Masts (2003 - 2004+) were the 'soft' masts...that's what I have. Sometime in 2004 they went to a stiffer mast with the same profile. On the soft mast, we usually run about 600lbs to 700lbs of tension depending on the wind. I've never been below 600 but then again, my performance in light air has been miserable. I'm not sure what the recommended settings are for the stiffer mast.

NOTE: be sure to check the diameter of the diamond wire and use the proper scale on your loos gauge. Nacra also changed the diameter of their diamond wires mid 2004 and some soft masts received the larger diameter diamond wires.

Thank you for the very informative and helpful responses!