Sailor Bill Murphy sent me the following info on the mast raising approach he uses on his Outrigger 26 trimaran. He thought it might be of interest to others.

Questions or suggestions are welcome in the comments area below. Bill is allowing us to reprint the information found originally on the webpage seen here: https://www.esva.net/~creeksedge/dreams/mastraisingalso.html

Many thanks to him for sharing it with us here on smalltrimarans.com!

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MAST RAISING
by Bill Murphy

First THE GIN POLE (click on the image to enlarge it)

Next, RAISING THE MAST (click on the image to enlarge it)

…CONTINUING TO RAISE THE MAST

Drawing #2 shows the block and tackle best.

We omitted showing mast stays, shrouds, and hayards to make the drawing simpler. They can be just bundled up near the base of the mast during its raising.

When the gin pole is taken down the line connecting the lower block to the mast is uncleated from the base of the mast. Thus no need to have the crew shinny up the mast.

Note again that it is at the mast’s balance point, that it is connected to the lower block of the block and tackle hoisting system. The 24 foot 2×4 pole was of adequate height for our mast on the Outrigger 26. Your gin pole may need to be taller or, able to be shorter, depending on your mast’s height and it’s balance point.

The objective here is to get your mast to the vertical. It can then be set on a pin, dropped thru a hole in the the deck, or whatever. Typically a boat’s boom is not long enough to be used as a gin pole in our system.