I was slowly repairing the catamaran throughout last winter. I raised the mast a few times to see how it actually worked. At the same time I googled for an easier way on You Tube. I found a gin pole method which attracted my attention. Using an old spinnaker pole connected at one end to a point near the base of the mast while the top end is shackled to the bottom of the fore-stay which then connects to a 5:1 winch.
The mast can be raised slowly using this winch.Two temporary side stays must be installed to keep the movement of the mast in one plane so that it will not move sideways as it is raised or lowered.
