Mike,
Can you post pictures of the pole, mast and boom fittings?
You wrote:
> there is a block on one end of the pole ( the mast end I think, as
> the up/down haul loops are on the other end). This block exits sideways…
> Have you seen anything similar?
This sounds like the spinnaker end of the poles. With attached twin poles, the pole downhaul ropes for each pole run from the deck in front of the mast, up to the front end of the pole. The downhaul rope then enters the ‘sideways’ block (which points downwards) at the front end of the pole and exits through the end of the pole. The loose end then ties onto a ring. The guy/sheet runs though this ring, so that when the pole is in use, as the downhaul goes tight, the guy becomes automatically attached to the end of the pole.
Loops on the other end may run along on a shockcord stretched diagonally from the pole fitting on the mast, to fittings on the back half of the boom. This would support the back end of the pole when stowed on the boom. A rope from the back of the pole, through a block fitted to the mast fitting, and down to a cleat, would launch the pole.
The RYA Dinghy Sailing Show is a good place to check out how these type of systems work in practice … 😕 😕 😕
Dave8181