Mast Raising

[j30Trouble]

I owned a J30 that I trailered to regattas. It had a 46 ft keel stepped mast. I was able to become self sufficient in mast stepping using an old broken mast I found in a boat yard. I repaired the old mast by splicing it back together. I could set this lighter mast up on deck and guy it off then use it to raise my mast. It worked well. I kept this mast stepping mast stowed on my trailer.

 

[LloydB]

Turning a used mast into a gin pole sounds like a good idea do you have any pictures or measurements on how you had it set up? Was the keel stepped mast free standing once it was in place on the keel?