The common thread in all mast raising stories is standing rigging fouling on pointy bits. Happened to me all the time as well.
When on Hols in New Zealand a few years ago i purchased a large glossy NZ yachting mag and found a product review on large foam covered twist ties with plastic ends. Good for all manner of stuff on boats.On return I could not find them locally but turned up an identical product at Go Slow.
I promptly bought the whole stock out. These are abso-bloody-lutely brilliant for holding lines in place for mast raising
. Just twist them around the pushpit and life lines and then close the loose ends together over your prearranged standing rigging like a thumb and finger. As you lift the mast the lines pop out. Its like having extra hands. I gave a set to a sailing friend who uses them for spinnaker raising single handed using the same method.The bad news is Go Slow have not stocked them since, but I notice Bunnings have a similar product but it is not as stiff. My daughter said hair dressing retailers sell something that also looks the same for curling hair.
Tried googling but cant locate the original product I saw in NZ (Dont know the brand name). Maybe some one else may have seen them.
Pic below shows my boat hook held in place with them.
Wink 