I had mentioned in my Owner's Review of the O'Day 222, that I had made up a mast raising/lowering rig that is very easy to operate, and is able to work with a roller furler attached to it. For years, I did it the hard way, lifting the mast, walking it back, straddling the seats and lifting the mast again this time over my head to insert it into the stern mast crotch. With a rope hooked to my Jib halyard which was cleated off on the mast, and the other end running through a sheave on the bow and back, I was able to pull the mast up while lifting it and pushing against it with my shoulder while standing on the companionway hatch. Well, since I made up this new rig,those days are gone forever. I need something that will make it easier on the "old guy", and maybe now I can get the roller furler that I always wanted. I have some pictures of the mast raising/lowering rig that I built last month. My friend and fellow club member, Wayne, built one out of pipe and he uses a small boat winch mounted on it to raise or lower his mast, which also has a roller furler connected to it. The day that I saw him raise his mast and furler with that rig, I was completely blown away. He didn't even have to lift the mast and walk it back. He had installed a small roller on his rear mast crotch and only needed to lift the bottom of the mast and roll it back into position to insert the pin to the mast hinge. Wayne stole the idea of the gin pole from Macgregor sailboats, and I robbed it off him. Only he built his gin pole of pipe, and I built mine out of oak, which can be broken down to two 3 foot sections for easy stowage. We each had to install pad eyes on our decks to accommodate the pivot bridles for keeping the mast from going from side to side as it goes up or down. These pivot bridles want to be set up so that The S.S. ring shown in jpg 445, is even with the center and the bottom of the pivot point on the mast. I use a bridle that runs from the end of the gin pole to each ring of the pivot bridles, and Wayne doesn't. I'm also using a 5/16 braided line with a snap hook which is attached to each pivot bridle and to each lower stay with a flat come-along grip placed about 5 feet high. Wayne is using a mast yoke which he attaches to the mast, and ropes run from that to the pivot bridles on each side of the boat. This keeps the mast from going over sideways as it goes up. As I had pointed out, Wayne is using a small boat winch to crank his mast up, and I'm using a block and tackle of 4:1 ratio attached to a point on the bow plate, and to the bottom end of the gin pole. We're using the Jib halyard to attach to the top of each gin pole. We're both able to raise and lower these 27 foot masts from a horizontal or vertical position with ease. I cut my boating season short this year in order to get this work done, and it was worth it. This will definitely make it easier on the "old guy". I'm planning on designing and building a better mast yoke for my gin pole, with something that can be tightened on to the mast via a bolt and cap nut, instead of tying it in position on the mast. The principle of how the pivot bridles are set up is pretty simple once you understand it. I got a few pointers on mast raising rigs, from a book called the Sailor's Sketchbook.