I have enjoyed the comments inspired my Mark's email; lots of good experience out there. I raise my 17 mast with a 4-part tackle attached to a ring on the trailer upright about a foot above the bow pulpit, and to the jib halyard (cleated off). The free line on the tackle reaches to the cockpit so I can pull with my left hand and raise the mast about head height with my right hand. No problem from there, because I leave the shrouds and backstay attached, and the tackle has plenty of power. I tension the mast with the tackle until I can pin the furling headstay, then tighten the backstay turnbuckle, which was loosened a bit to free the furler last time around. My IdaSailor mast crutch starts the mast pretty high, but there will come a day when I will not want to raise the mast that last foot or two by hand. I am working on a 1" PVC crutch to solve this problem. Ideally, I think one hand should be dedicated to sway control if possible, although I am considering a set of pre-cut stabilizing "shrouds" from handrails to spreaders for those windy days. Obviously there is a problem with this system when the boat is launched from a sling with the mast down, so I fasten the tackle to a free hole in the stem fitting, and lift the mast a little higher to start. Next time in, I am going to lash to the pulpit and not lift so much. As for the time it takes to rig and unrig the boat, I find most of it is spent gazing at the scenery and chatting with folks in the parking lot. There are worse ways to spend one's time. Tom Jenkins M17 Scintilla