* Scott: Great write-up on alignment. * George & Stan: Welcome to the list. Hope you enjoy your boats. * Clarance: Signal Mountain? I think I have cousins on every ridge of that tri-state area. Looking forward to meeting you at CBC 2003. * Mast Raising. I bought an telescoping mast crutch called "Mast Up." It is overkill for a 15 and maybe for a 17. However, it looks much nicer than my homemade crutch and roller. May be useful for single handed mast raising. Judy B. has some pictures at: http://www.blumhorst.com/potterpages/Photopoint/0013/aindex.htm Mast up is $140 plus shipping. 541-686-2666 * Cheap inflatable. I tried the Coleman 2-man inflatable raft from the local Wal-Mart. PVC, 370 lb. capacity. As with other 2-man inflatables this should hold one adult in calm water. I could not resist the $20 price. A hand pump is $10, which took me five minutes to inflate the craft. Worked up a little perspiration. A rechargeable, battery operated pump is $30. Takes about a minute to fill. No sweat. The charger is AC. Not sure how long the battery will last. There is a warning to let the pump cool if in use for more than ten minutes. They also make AC and 12 volt powered pumps. Coleman has a propriety valve design which leaked a little when I unhooked the hand pump. The rechargeable pump quickly disengages without so much as a hiss. Very well thought out design. Either pump can be connected to deflate the raft, another clever idea. Deflating is much quicker than inflating. The hose of the hand pump plugs directly into the raft. This hose has two other adapters permanently tethered. The rechargeable model uses a detachable adapter for the raft. That will be a challenge to keep up with. They should have included a lanyard or storage compartment. The pumps work only on water toy type inflatables, not inner tubes or footballs. It holds air. Too rainy to find out if it holds me. steve Steve R. M-15 #119 Lexington, KY