I've been using my mast raising system for a couple years now and I'm so pleased with it I have to chime in on this topic!
I wanted a mast raising/lowering system that:
1 could be used single-handed by a decrepit old man
2 could be used on the trailer or on the water
3 would allow a hinge to be above the boom and mainsail,
4 allow storing the boom and mainsail there
5 didn't have cumbersome parts that needed to be attached
6 could be deployed in minimum time
I also wanted a bow pulpit for safety and decided to integrate the pulpit with the mast raiser if possible. Here's what I came up with, an "A" frame as part of a pulpit...
The pulpit is made of a 7/8" dia stainless tube inside a 1" dia thinwall tube with a 1/4-20 bolt setting the length. Aluminum should work as well, and even a single 8 ft long tube could work, although mine are 9.5 ft long. The two pulpit arms are hinged just forward of the chainplates and both attach to the ends of a short tube athwartships above the bow. This tube has a 1/4-20 female connector inside it and a bolt goes through each long tube and into the short tube and threads into the connector. A piece of wood attaches to the short tube which protects the spinnaker from the exposed bolt heads and tube ends, and adds a bit of structure to the structure. On the outside of the short tube are two 7/8" pipe "T's" which attach to two vertical stanchions. The connection of the "T's" to the stanchions does not have the set-crews installed so the "A" frame (the 9.5 ft tubes and the short tube) may be easily removed from the stanchions and deployed to give a leverage arm on the mast. There is a 4::1 block and tackle with a cam cleat from the short tube to the bow.
The mast hinge is not the normal Dwyer tabernacle, I destroyed two of them due to the hinge being 26" above the partners and so had to design something stronger...
This tabarnackle retains the mast's strength and bending modality and doesn't break or bend if the mast drops by accident (but good luck with your Windex).
I have a boom gallows that receives the boom and mast when it's down (the mast sticks out over the transom quite a bit so I tie an orange PFD to the end). I've replaced the grizzled old wire cable forestay with Dyneema. I release the "A" frame purchase and stantion connections with a tug and pull it up vertical, then attach the forestay to the short tube. Pulling on the purchase raises the mast. It's about four 3' to 4' pulls, then I insert the safety bolt in the hinge which means the mast is being held up by it's step and the partners, the shrouds will tighten on a last short pull on the purchase. I let the "A" frame down and catch the stantions in the "T"'s. Done. I'd say that's about 2 minutes and just as fast to lower it.
There are several options from there: You can dial in the "A" frame connection locations and be done or you can deploy a furler or jib and release the purchase as I do when flying my UPS, otherwise I have to furl on each tack/jib.