“To Bodge (v), to make or repair hastily, to MacGyver”
Spaight St. Syndicate
The Spaight Street Syndicate expands its footprint. Via Daniel Hearn:
A sure sign that you’re a major dork is when certain tools tickle your loins. Guilty. But come on, check out this bad girl! If you’re like me, you’ve been lusting after the perfect re-saw machine since you skinnied your first board. Miss August, Tilly Tannewitz, boasts a 5 horsepower motor that will rip your hardwood quicker than a sailor draining a bottle of rum. She insists that Sitka is for sissy saws, but she doesn’t judge, so she’ll still entertain wuss wood. Touch her button and she slowly winds up until she’s a screaming mad woman just daring you to test her metal. With a 1″ carbide-toothed blade, she’s not slowin’ down for nobody. And if you think you need a rounded fence to keep her tracking down the center, forget about it! Set your thickness, and she’s as straight and true as they come.
Tilly is a relatively new addition to the Bodgery, a community shop that I joined just before COVID. Until now, I’ve never found an economical resource for re-sawing lumber. By the time I would pay a set-up fee and then the hourly rate for cutting at a professional shop, it would still be cheaper to waste a lot of wood in the planer. At $12 per board foot, I just couldn’t do it. So, on my current projects, I ripped the boards to 4″ width, then re-sawed, then planned, then glued the boards back together to get the widths I needed. Material efficient, but labor intensive. Tilly can resaw up to 13″ of hardwood, barely breaking a sweat. I’ve completed my Tilly training, so if you need something re-sawn for your next iceboat build, feel free to hit me up.
A few weeks ago, fellow C Skeeter builder Pat Heppert came to Madison to pick up some high-tech foam to build C Class Skeeter masts. The day started in the original compact basement workshop of the Spaight Street Syndicate, then over to the Bodgery to cut the foam, and then finished at the SSS Launchpad shop.
Pat Heppert points the way to enough material for 7 C Class Skeeter masts.
Pat meets Tilly.
Tilly’s got bite.
Later that same day, Pat explains his new traveler system to Jerry Simon.
Coming soon, a new driver in this seat. Photo: Sean Heavey
Iceboat shops are busy this spring, including Daniel Hearn’s Spaight Street Syndicate. Here’s the latest report.
Is it Groundhog Day, or is this one of those automated Facebook anniversary posts? Well…neither. This is “Weak Moment,” the second C-Skeeter that will come out of the Spaight Street Syndicate. Wisconsin’s C-Skeeter Fleet is doubling in size! A different butt will be seated in the “Original Gangsta/Black Ice” when we’re back in-season.
I must clarify that it makes me uncomfortable talking about other guy’s butts, but I’ll reveal that the owner of this one knows how to make all sorts of sailboats go fast. Whether he’s at the helm, or helping one of his customers. I’ll leave it up to him to expose his butt. Just doesn’t seem appropriate for me to encourage such behavior. At least from another dude.
Not much will be different with boat #2. Hard to improve on Pat Heppert’s excellent design, though Pat is exploring the next generation. The evolution of “Drifter” will be called “Traveler.” Hint…hint. Maybe he’ll shoot Deb some post content to share what he’s been up to. [Yes, please, Ed.]
Weak Moment will be 7% smaller in height and width. That was my original intent with boat #1. In fact, I had completed a full set of bulkheads before getting cold feet hearing stories of claustrophobia. So, I started over. I would have been fine, but I didn’t know any better at the time, so I stuck the work on the shelf. Turns out, it gave me a nice jump start on boat #2.
It’s always good to surround yourself with people who are smarter than you. With the C-Skeeter, I buddied up to Pat Heppert, and so far, he’s still taking my calls and responding to my texts and emails. When I got intrigued with fixed wing boats, inspired by Dan Clapp’s W28, I reached out to Wing Wizard, John Eisenlohr, who lives in Montana. I had the pleasure of meeting John and some of the other Montana Ice/Dirt Cowboys on our last trip to Fort Peck. Before I knew it, my W28 wanna-be with DN parts had morphed into a 18 ft. tapered wing and flap, with 30″ removable top sections. Plus, a largely enclosed 13 foot hull, 6 foot springboard, and a 12 foot wide plank. I think they call this phenomenon, “project creep.” What is it with iceboaters, anyway? In the immortal words of Dan Clapp himself, “it’s not like we’re racing!”
Here’s a shot of my main wing as it sits now. I’ve just installed the leading edge pieces, but have yet to shape. My hinge boxes are also ready to be installed on the appropriate ribs. After that, I’ve got some additional internal reinforcing to do, and it’s on to skinning. John normally installs the leading edge blocks after the skinning, using ropes with tourniquet-type devices. I decided to mount leading edge blocks first, so I could just use clamps. Guess I’ll find out if this makes the skinning more difficult.
Who wants to go to Fort Peck, Montana next year? I’m thinking a Baikal-like annual adventure open to all ice sailors. At the end of the season when the rest of our ice is typically un-sailable. Those of us in the Midwest and further left would likely still drive. And maybe we arrange for containers to go from the Central Region and the East? The town would roll out the red carpet for us and maybe even throw in some tourism dollars support. What do you think?
4LIYC members Tim McCormick, left, and Ron Rosten, right, line up in the one and two blocks for the fourth Renegade race. Results
Sunday’s conditions were a paradox of wind with intermittent fog. The Nites were the first to sail, and Green Lake Ice Yacht Club’s Byron Hill won his first race of the day.
The wind picked up, which made for an exciting and competitive Renegade race won by Tim McCormick. The Nites were able to sail one more, again won by Byron Hill.
The Renegades lined up for race four which was a four-lapper. After two laps, a competitor pulled in and informed the Race Committee that the weather mark had fallen because he had hit it. Chief Judge and Nite Commodore John Hayashi, assisted by Pat Heppert, immediately decided that sailors fishing around for the weather mark in the ever-lower visibility was a lousy situation and black-flagged the race.
Congratulations to Jim Gluek for his second Renegade Championship and Byron Hill for his victory in the Nite Class. Thanks to John Hayashi, the Green Lake Ice Yacht Club, and Pat Heppert for all his help.
The celebratory braunschweiger and onion sandwiches provided by Green Lake Ice Yacht Club’s Debbie Biermann at the trophy presentation were much appreciated. Her husband, Dan’s, birthday is coming up, and he asked her to make them rather than a birthday cake. We all hope it’s a new tradition.
Class A Skeeter sailors Ken White Horse and Paul Krueger haven’t had the conditions to sail this season. Mike Ripp made sure Ken kept his racing skills tuned up and lent him his Renegade to race in the regatta. Paul Krueger joined Ken as a coach, pit crew, and ATV driver.
Thanks, Peter Sarelis, for traveling to the regatta from Michigan and representing the Gull Lake Ice Yacht Club.
Green Lake 3From Left, Green Lake Ice Yacht Club Deb Bierman, 3rd Daniel Hearn, 5th Ken Whitehorse, 4th Tim McCormick, 2nd Greg McCormick, and 1st Jim Gluek.
