Ted,
Welcome new convert! I'll remark on this question:
When raising and lowering at that tight angle the mast real wants to swing out wide, would raising step ball help with this?
You can eliminate almost all of the side to side wandering ("swing out wide") if you make up a couple of stabilizer lines. Run a piece of rope or cable from a trapeze line to the end of the front cross bar on each side of the boat. Those will we your stabilizer lines to be used during stepping and unstepping the mast.
Those lines are going to be taught when the mast is up and they will loosen slightly when the mast is on its way down. That is because of the height difference of where you attach on the end of the beam, compared to the pivot point on the mast base. So to get the lines at the exact length you need, adjust them when the mast is in the up position.
When stepping a mast with stabilizer lines, most all of the energy that once went into resisting side to side sway, now goes directly into supporting the weight of the mast. Stepping becomes much easier this way!
GARY
