[quote=Andinista][quote=shortyfox] He got up on the tramp and used a remote control to start the little electric winch and because he was on the tramp while the mast was going up, he was able to use his free hand to keep the mast from going to the side during the raising process.[/quote]
The mast support extension can be skipped in my opinion, I'd first try to move the winch further up, or add a block at the top of the mast support. I recently changed the strap of my winch with a rope and it works way better. No need for a wire, just a decent line. The winch will not work by it's own on the first degrees but you can pull from the diamond wire up to a certain height where it does. This is how I step my mast, except that someone is helping from the winch, I don't have an electric one. But I start with the mast horizontal and the winch line nearly horizontal too, not effective by it's own at the begining, but no big deal.
But with this method and the one suggested by ctcatman you still need someone or something to support the top of the mast to be able to connect and pin the mast base to the ball. Otherwise it's a nightmare. Even if you acheive it, the mast rests on the diamond wire in a very forced position.
Today I only step the mast solo if I find a heigh enough support. Where I normally do it there is a sort of soccer goal that works perfectly. I wouldn't turn the boat around, that whould be too much, I'd rather wait and find a helper. The hardest part is extending your arms, after that you just walk forward. As I'm not getting any younger, last time was a bit scary and a little trick did help: before extending my arms I supported the mast with my head, found my center and proceeded :) So yes, it's a sort of limit situation, not really easy. Mine is a N5.5, with my previous N5.0 it was a bit easier, but having a system is a good idea, if id doesn't add too much time.[/quote]
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