flaco wrote:
I was in the same boat for a while, and I'll tell you what I did.
Raising:
...I stand on the tramp in the usual position, and get the mast raised to shoulder level. My wife, meanwhile is cranking the winch quickly to take up the slack.
Once winch strap is tight, she continues to crank very quickly and I (very important) prevent the mast from swinging side-to-side. I don't put any effort into raising, only preventing the swing....
Assuming your wife is there to operate the winch, this is the method that I was also going to recommend. Connect the winch line to the trap wires and have your wife crank 'er up while you simply guide the mast so it stays in line side-to-side. This is the simplest way to do it. I would avoid using a gin pole and/or using the trap wires for side-to-side stabilizing if you don't need too. It's more complication and more opportunitys for things to go wrong.
If you don't have a winch, you can connect a long length of line to the main halyard or trap lines. Then have your wife stand in front of the boat and simply start walking backward, pulling the mast up as she goes. Just a small amount of help will make the mast much easier to raise. Once it's up, one of you pins the forestay while the other holds the mast up.
sm