John Pepper writes in with a good idea…. Plenty of food for thought! Feel free to weight in…..

“Here is another concept for the site.

I am needing to upgrade my trailering capacity for a DN and Whizz. I could use a long Jon boat as a lid. At 16 inches deep, it would only need a shallow box below it to cover the boats. It could be hinged from front or side or both. It would likely need a longer box for the Whizz’s spring board. Not sure of mast storage yet.

In case someone needed a flat bottom boat to pull a stuck craft out of the water, pull a few pins, and it is ready to go.

Has anyone attempted this before? If so, any tips? At 150 pounds, its not a light lid, but counter weights or a winch set up from a pop up camper may offset.

John

Joerg Bohn sent a few photos from Baikal…. Looks like the weather finally got back to normal….
Just an amazing place to visit and sail- Put it on your list!

Bob Crinion of Halifax NS had a good sailing day go wrong a few weeks ago and has been repairing his DN slowly but surely…. As you can see he’s done a nice job on the sideboard but the real upgrade is the new hiking rack made from discarded hockey sticks! How Canadian can ya get, eh? (Sorry, couldn’t resist… hey, I did it again! “Sorry!”)

Bob says broken hockey sticks are readily available up his way if you do a little snooping through the local rubbish bins on a Monday morning….

Light, strong and they look snazzy!

Thanks Bob, look forward to seeing the boat back in action!

Very good article by Nite campaigner Chad Rechcygl. Some good pointers in here no matter what kind of sailing you do-

My Road to Nite National Champ

You may think Mike Madge is “that guy out in Thunder Bay Ontario who seems to get on the ice before everyone else on the planet every year” and mostly you’re right.

Mike loves sailing iceboats and is looking to get some more people involved by acquiring a loaner boat for friends and potential new iceboaters to sail. To that end he’s picked up a vintage DN (early 1960’s maybe?) and is prepping it for newbie use.

His plan is to bring it to the ice and let anyone who is interested try it out and hopefully get bitten by the bug! Some of us have been doing things like this for awhile- It’s nice to have the ability to give people the chance to take spin in a boat that is fast enough to provide some thrills yet not so twitchy as to cause a fright! And of course it is less nerve wracking to send a newbie flying across the lake in a boat that is NOT your expensive, delicate, highly tuned and fawn-ed over yacht of your dreams!

I spend the summer collecting email address and compiling a mailing list of people who want to try an iceboat and nag them all like crazy over the winter. All I have to do during the season is send one email to all of them saying “Head to Lake X, there’s good ice and a boat all ready for you!” We seem to get a few takers every season. Good to share the fun!

For my loaner boat I added a designated helmet and goggles, ice picks, creepers and mittens to make that first ride a little more comfortable.

If you want to help grow the sport this is a great way- follow Mike’s lead and pick up and old beater for folks to try out. Check the NEIYA classifieds, there’s all kinds of craft available for really good prices.

Hey Folks- If you are a DN class member read this and start thinking about what way you think you should vote…

Remember, vote early and often!

Notice of Ballot – DN North America

What a difference a day can make… Take a look, have a read, and always proceed with caution!
Great Pond Done

Sounds like the Maine-iacs had a good day on Great Pond!

Great Pond 3/21

Hello All- if you are interested in de-quarantining this weekend take a look at the CIBC site…

https://iceboat.me/2020/03/20/sailing-possibities/

Every year brings change to all of us in the ice boating world. For me, I noticed that some of my happiest moments out on the ice this season came when I spotted new sailors. One thing that I noticed right off was that each and every one of them were smiling ear to ear. I well recall my first experiences on the ice under sail, lots of minor mechanical fails, a couple of bumps and bruises, and then of course the first feeling of rush…. wow! now how do I slow this thing down!! Ice sailing is always such a thrill. It does not matter what class you sail, whether you build your own boat, or have just purchased the oldest or newest boat in the fleet. It does not matter your skill level, beginner or sledgehammer racer…. it’s all about the smiles, the fun, being out and about in the fresh air, and of course the great company!

As the 2019-2020 season winds down its a great time to think about the new sailors of next year. Who can I share this game with? What kids can I invite into to the fold and how can we get them up and running for first ice of next season. I hope to see some new young faces out there and I pledge to finally get this loaner DN out on the plate for anybody to try when we cross paths…. I hope you will connect with me and bring some young folks out too!

I’d like to recognize Rosemary Pope (seen here with her father David) for being among the youngest pilots in New England this season! I know she had other family members on the ice too but she went whizzing by so fast I couldn’t get many details!

Also spotted out on the ice were the Atkins family with some notably young skippers – hopefully next year we can grab a photo or two?

On the deck of the pink boat is a well familiar face to many at this point – that’s Bella Langley! Her program has been supported by her father Brian who many know as an extraordinary builder of many fine ice boats. We hope you’ll see them both on the ice again next season and if you have questions about getting started they are wonderful connections to make!

For the sailor kids I missed in this post get ready for next season… and if you see my camera out for goodness sake slow down so I can take a snap or two and collect some details!

Here’s to the new sailors of 2020-2021

Jay Whitehair
Vice Commodore – New England Ice Yacht Association

Have to see these! Click and take a look- Shamelessly stolen from the Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club website- Many thanks!

Ben Franklin’s Ice-Boat Drawings – iceboat.org

This is amazing. Deb Whitehorse has done it again- She has delved into the archives of God Knows Where and found out that Ben Franklin and John Adams had the iceboat bug. Well, Adams maybe not so much….

Click and read, this will blow your mind.

When Ben Franklin Ordered Iceboat Plans – iceboat.org