Maybe there was no drill available, or duct tape. There isn't much that a good hammer and a roll of duct tape can't fix.
By the way, I put together a really neat/cheap spinnaker launcher for the New Years Day Race. Stainless steel trash can (bed bath and beyond), swimming pool hose clamps (home Depot), home made nylon sock (cool looking, semi functional, more on this) attached with duct tape (white, it looks more nautical), an old windsurfing mast (Aluminum, blue anodized, didn't really match the sail, but my niece thinks it is a nice blue), windsurfing mast base and extention, and assorted line and Harken rigging(several hundred dollars in ratchet blocks), and a borrowed tiger spinnaker. I took the ratings hit, and the wind shifted big all day long so I never took the sail out of the sock during the race. It did see the light of day on the way to the start, but once retrieved, there it stayed.
What I learned;
1-buy a proper launcher, it's cheaper and will save you time
2-Little girls (my niece and her friend) can not launch the chute, but can steer the boat while I launch and fly the chute-although this can be exciting once the chute is up and pulling hard. (sheet out the main and pull on the tiller!! OK, less pulling on the tiller, point towards that building...) As long as you don't capsize, the "crew" will think it is really fun.
3-The spinnaker sock should be made of non-stretch material like dacron sail cloth, not elastic nylon. This prevents the "swelling" of the sock past the hard portion of the retriever when filled with the kite. The swelling is what causes the spinnaker to be difficult to relaunch. This is why the hard tube launchers work better than most sock type launchers.
By the way, triple trap in gusty conditions is very fun, especially when you go from sheeting out, to teabagging, to sheeting out again. SDYC's race comitee hooted and hollered for us as we finished flying a hull with three on the wire.
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I like your smilies Hammond 
keep em coming 
and not enough