Ken Stafford checks in with this update on a nice vintage DN he is restoring- it looks like it’s almost too nice to sail now! Maybe he will race it in the Vintage/Classic category at some of our DN regattas this winter….

If you are up to anything iceboat-related over the summer write a few paragaphs, take a few pictures, and email them to me at t_thieler@yahoo.com and I’ll put them on the front page. Any and all content welcome all year long!

And now here is Ken’s report:

The short story about the boat is that it was offered as is, free for the pickup by a professor colleague of mine. It was in Pennsylvania where it had sat unused for over a decade…and no one knew its previous history. It was complete shy some fasteners and a broken batten. The runners were horribly rusted as were all the non-SS nuts and bolts. The sail had no numbers or emblem on it although I could make out the image of its number, “2013”. I stripped off all the white paint on the hull and discovered only a small amount of delamination near the bow…fixed that and repainted with forest green polyurethane. Polished all the bronze fittings and stained SS, replaced all the rusted fasteners with new SS, removed all the rust of the steel chocks and steering pull-rods and painted them black. Completely stripped the varnished spruce mast, re-glued some lose mast top pieces, and refinished with 5 coats of varnish. Stripped the paint off the plank and discovered a beautiful wood grain. Again applied 5 coats of varnish. Carefully copied the old outlines of the sail numbers and logo, cut out new ones from green self-adhesive sailcloth I got from Sailrite, and put them on along with a bunch of tell tails. Found the 2 pieces of the top broken wood batten and was able to bond some very thin tapered wood patches over the break…doesn’t seem to upset the camber too much. Spent about 3 hrs on each of the blades removing rust, and grinding in new edges. Also stripped and refinished both the beautiful wood tiller and unusual hand brake.

The sail is from “Kenneth A Nelson Sailmakers”, the boom blocks are “Sharpnack”, and the runners have “LCB” stamped on the aluminum stiffeners. I’ve been told that it was probably built in the late 50’s/early 60’s and that the sail number was originally issued to Steward Hamel from Sharon MA.

Ken

Ken Stafford

Take a moment to think of those who made the biggest sacrifice a person can make…

Hey Folks- There is another e-ballot headed to all DN class members, this one having to do with electing officers-

It’s important stuff! Take a few minutes, read up on the issue, and of course vote early and often!

2020 Election of Officers and Amendments to Constitution and Bylaws – DN North America

Let’s talk about Mozambique.

At 309,475 sq mi (801,537 km2), Mozambique is the world’s 36th-largest country. It is comparable in size to Turkey. Mozambique is located on the southeast coast of Africa. It is bound by Swaziland to the south, South Africa to the southwest, Zimbabwe to the west, Zambia and Malawi to the northwest, Tanzania to the north and the Indian Ocean to the east. Mozambique lies between latitudes 10° and 27°S, and longitudes 30° and 41°E.

It has a tropical climate with only two seasons- The wet season and the dry season. No winter, no ice unless it’s in a drink.

And yet, somehow, they have some of the best postage stamps ever. Especially if you like iceboats. Click and take a look!

https://www.iceboat.org/2020/05/20/ice-sailing-goes-postal/

John Pepper found this project on Craigslist…. Could be a good way to keep occupied during the hazy days of a potentially quiet summer!

https://scranton.craigslist.org/boa/d/newfoundland-vintage-ice-boat/7125599239.html

Hello All-

Hope all all doing well and are happy, healthy, and hanging in there….

Need a little reading material? The May issue of the DN class newsletter is out and as ever has some good content-

Check it out and read it online or even order a copy on good old-fashioned paper here:

May 2020 Runner Tracks Published – DN North America

Think ICE!

Not saying who this is or where this is but I will say that the mast is rumored to be a 2×4….

Greetings from the dark shadow of the Corona epicenter. Our season really didn’t have a typical last hurrah. Concerns and fear overtook our need for ice and speed.

I for one could have traveled but as a person coming from a high-risk area did not feel right about potentially exposing those in nearly pristine areas. It was a matter of personal responsibility. Taking responsibility is something we as iceboaters know and live by.

Now that I have gotten the grim and foreboding out of the way, it’s time to let the sunshine in and make plans to close out our season on a positive note. At this point our best option is virtual. The Zoom platform is pretty easy and I expect even the low tech or Luddites among us will be fine.

Our first Virtual Meetup will be this Friday at 6:00pm. The meeting info including password has been placed in the member forum which is password protected. https://theneiya.org/member-forum/

Don’t remember the password or want to just get it directly drop me an email john@neiya.org

See online Friday,

John
DN5023
john@neiya.org

Anyone up for trying some land sailing out without going out to the desert? Bill Bucholz may have a plan….

Check the CIBC site to find out how….

Land Sailing

John Pepper is putting more thought into his lifting jackstands for his Skeeter- The refinement continues!

This new iteration features sheaves that don’t keep the stand from folding all the way closed- this allows maximum lift and looks pretty slick as well. And let’s face it, that is important too….

As Dan Clapp once said of his philosophy of making his Skeeters not only fast and reliable but also good looking: “It’s got to go fast on the race course, but it also has to get ooohs and aaaaahs in the parking lot.”

Well done John, send photos of the prototypes when you have them!

Think Ice….

Lest anyone be puzzled by the “420” post yesterday I thought I’d offer up this link as an explanation-

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/420_(cannabis_culture)
All in good fun and let’s face it, we can all use a laugh and a diversion from the regular world these days. And the photo of the Renegade was pretty good too!

Hope it was a good day for all.

Shake out the cobwebs and THINK ICE!

Sending out a best wishes to everyone on this most auspicious of days- Hope all are well and will celebrate accordingly!