I agree. I made myself a pole and it didn't work. Without someone else to help, it`s hard to keep it perpendicular to the boat and hang on the tip of it. So I had to keep one feet on the hull or on the dolphin striker, not making a real difference with respec to using just a righting line. Then I ended up broking it, precisely because I was not hanging from the tip but somewehere near the middle ot it. Now I have a bag. Haven't tested it yet, but I guess it will work.
Personally I wouldn`t go less than 16 ft. I have a nacra 5.0 and have sailed it in quite strong winds with no problem. I weight 87 kg. I like not having to deal with daggerboards, but I would prefer having them if the boat would point significantly better (wich probably would happen). I can raise the mast solo, I use the mast support from the trailer to start raising the mast from an initial angle.