The largest Nite iceboat club in Minnesota, the Bald Eagle Ice Yacht Club, gathered last night for the annual “Blade Night” runner sharpening party and kick-off to the season. Not only is this the largest iceboat club in Minnesota, it is also arguably the best dressed, with plenty of custom club attire worn and available for purchase. Commodore John Stasieluk was gracious enough to host in his 2-story barn filled with iceboats and workshop machinery. While the upstairs social area was kept toasty warm with heaters and sailor’s hot air, the downstairs was maintained at a perfect runner sharpening chill for serious business.
Among the comradery of lifelong friendships and numerous conversations, every once in a while you would hear someone shout out the battle cry of the BEIYC, “Nite Nats!” While some of the fleet is laser focused on aspiring to dominate the top echelon of Nite fleet for certain lifelong glory, 100% of the fleet is focused on creating a fun atmosphere that is welcoming and inviting to all who want to participate in sailing. A great kick-off to the season, here we come, “Nite Nats!”
4LIYC Renegader Doug Kolner has been hard at work in his Monona, WI workshop this fall, building a Renegade mast from reclaimed timber sourced from California’s Russian River. With temperatures dipping to 18F this morning around the 4LIYC area, this project is right on schedule. Doug has been in the shop “making dust,” as the late Bill Mattison used to say. Doug discovered an unusual supplier in California that salvages trees, originally logged many years ago, which settled at the bottom of the Russian River. This unique redwood will now find new life on the ice.
If you are not smart like Pat Heppert, I would highly recommend getting yourself a Daniel 2.0. You see, Pat designed this slick sheeting system for our Mini Skeeters. Rather than pulling downward off the boom, our sheet runs underneath the deck, which allows us to trim with the full benefit of our legs and torso. Now Pat is plenty strong enough to sheet the traditional way, but his much older and weaker travel mate is a total wuss. The system was likely designed with this in mind, but Pat is too nice to say so. It also allows us to crouch down deep into the cockpit keeping our elbows in, reducing windage. Even Pat, with his superior musculature, can nearly disappear inside the cockpit.
My first attempted Mini build ended with my mast listing to leeward at about 30 degrees. I told everyone I was testing an on-the-fly adjustable stay system. I said it with such conviction that no one immediately pointed out that the Mini has a stay-less rig. Given the wreckage that was left on my deck, I doubt anyone bought it, but it was worth a try. I have made a living spinning tales for decades, so I just could not help myself. This configuration certainly was not fast!
The playa fact checkers uncovered that the spinmaster’s boat blew up on the second day of racing last May. Regatta Manager extraordinaire, Dennis Bassano, provided the “tow of shame” back to the pits, while interested parties gathered around to survey the wreckage. “That one’s not going to buff out,” one helpful observer offered. “Hardly a scratch I replied,” simultaneously wondering what I was going to do in the desert for the rest of the week? Fortunately, Ironman Renee Fields (for those not in-the-know, the adjective is gender neutral), graciously offered to withdraw from the Mini Class, to allow me to race Pete John’s spare boat. Renee routinely races in every class. Pete is still going fast nearing 90 years old. Two amazing people!
Truth-be-told, the builder was too much of a weight weenie, removing structure he considered unnecessary. Guess we all know how that turned out! Sorry John. Sorry Pat. In my defense, it worked for Senna. At least the hull was still in primer, so the eventual paint would hide my ineptitude.
Since I was performing major reconstructive surgery, I decided to move my ratchet block further forward underneath the deck. This, to give me more un-tapered mainsheet to clutch before reaching maximum block-to-block. And, to still have only the tapered sheet running through all eight blocks at race trim. If I were smart like Pat, I would have left a tracer line in my hull before closing it up. No matter how I attempted to contort my body, there was no way I could reach that far forward. And my access panel underneath, was not quite big enough. Enter Daniel 2.0. Dashel Daniel , my grandson. Among the greatest honors of my life, he was named after me.
Dash was happy to scurry into the cockpit abyss, skillfully rerouting my mainsheet through bulkhead bushings, around my ratchet block in the correct direction and back to my waiting hand. So, if you find yourself with a similar dilemma, let me know, and I will share contact info for his mom. Dash has yet to learn his marketable value, but rest assured he will. His “Pappy” (and his Dad) will see to that! For now, he is most satisfied to work for chocolate!
It took half the race committee to move the trailer at the DN North Americans.
During the recent Northwest regatta and 2024 DN North American Championship on Lake Waconia in Waconia, MN, attendees who had the task of maneuvering the DN Western Region ATV trailer on the ice might have felt like they were steering the Titanic due to its hefty tongue weight. However, despite its weight, the trailer was a dream to tow and allowed me to improve my trailer-backing skills. Nevertheless, the necessity for maneuverability on the ice outweighed the benefits of towing ease, prompting a visit to the Current Fast Champions Ice Boat Shop (formerly known as the Past Champions Ice Boat Shop) for further customization and weight reduction.
CFCIBS Wrench-Turner Ken Whitehorse reports:
The tongue weight on DN Western Region trailer was 400 lbs ! That’s like throwing a 55 gal drum of water in the back of you car! Yikes! Hope you DN racers don’t need this next week! The Current Champs Shop is kinda busy swapping out old used air for new air in trailers tires this month!
Tale of the scale.
The Current Fast Champions crew found their runner-sharpening halted by an open-wheel midget racing car that had rolled into the shop.
Luckily, they were able to access the big machine.
PREVIOUS: There Goes the Neighborhood
The next door neighbor of iceboat.org made some improvements on their building on the Monday after the Northwest regatta.. Greg Whitehorse was there to help and document the change.
It was a busy day at the Past Champions Iceboat Shop in Monona, Wisconsin. Ken WhiteHorse captured the Northwestern Class A Skeeter Championship last weekend on Minnesota’s Lake Waconia, 47 years after capturing that same title in 1977(!!!). You do,after all, have to keep things “Current”.
