It takes around 200lb of force to lift the mast from horizontal while standing at the rear crossbar. It's not as difficult if you can start with the mast on a ladder or something so it's a bit more vertical to start.
This year I put together a winch and gin pole setup for our H18. It has made setting up our boat significantly easier. A photo of my setup is visible here:
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6624127Gin pole:
I used 2" PVC pipe (84" long) for the gin pole.
I put a slip end cap with a 1/4" bolt (2" long) through the center of the cap at the top of the gin pole (to keep the forestay and winch hook on top of the gin pole.
I drilled a hole through the pipe just below the cap and ran some old halyard rope through.
I ended up 3d printing a fitting to go on the bottom of the gin pole to keep it from slipping off the mast (to the side). Its probably possible to cut up a PVC tee fitting to also fit around the front of the mast. The gin pole base will rest against the mast a couple feet from the base of the mast (about where the diamond wires attach).
Winch:
I have an inexpensive hand crank winch that's rated for 1000 lbs. The loads in the forestay and winch are only around 400lbs. A ratchet is wonderful.
I also replaced the forestay pin at the forestay adjuster with a shackle that matched the pin size. The shackle allows me to directly connect the winch hook and forestay and leaves the forestay adjuster free to slide into the furler. I positioned the winch on the trailer so that when the mast is up, it's fairly easy to remove the gin pole while the winch and forestay are connected (the winch hook is about 1ft forward of where the forestay adjuster and furler connect).
Stabilizing System:
I use the forward trapeze wires to stabilize the mast while it is raised and lowered.
I have a length of old halyard rope that runs through the top of the gin pole with a couple of figure-8 stop knots on each side of the pole. Near the ends of the rope there is a loop with a carabiner that attaches to each of the trapeze wires. The ends of the rope are attached fairly tightly around the front crossbar near the hulls. This rope pulls the trapeze wires tight to keep the mast from rotating to the side and keeps the gin pole from falling over while the mast is being raised.
Setup Procedure:
- Move the mast into position and set it on something so that it's not resting on the tiller crossbar
- Pin the mast base to the mast step
- Connect the forestay and winch hook
- Attach the gin pole rope to the front crossbar and trapeze wire on one side
- Put the gin pole bolt through the winch hook and lift the pole up and place the gin pole base on the mast (hold onto the other end of the rope to keep pole from falling over).
- Attach the other end of the gin pole rope to the other trapeze wire and the front crossbar
- Tension the winch and make sure everything looks good then raise the mast (make sure the shrouds don't get tangled or twisted)
- Remove the gin pole and attach the forestay to the furler
- Disconnect the winch and remove the mast pin