Spaight St. Syndicate Memorial Weekend Report

Tug, Spaight St. Syndicate’s motorized assistant 

New Additions to the Spaight Street Syndicate

Hi all. Been a while. Life moves on during our global pandemic. On May 5, I officially became a real old dude. A grandpa. Haven’t started building Dash (Dashel) Daniel Percevecz’s first iceboat yet, but it’s on my list. Much joy, but also heartbreak, as I lost my mom the same day.

Daniel with first grandchild and newest Ice Optimist sailor.

Since my last update, I’ve pimped out my trailer. It’s set up to haul a C-Skeeter, a Renegade and three DNs; with sails, planks and runners for all. Along with a powered kick sled or two. I’ll give you a tour in a future update. Good ride for a Northwest!

Also meet “Tug,” the newest addition to the Spaight Street Syndicate garage. She’s a real tomboy—an electric powered trailer mover built from readily available parts, complete with lights and cup holders. Many thanks to Ken Whitehorse for the welding. I may have understated the task when I mentioned I had a few pieces of metal to weld up. But Ken was a great sport, and we had fun working on the project. I often need to move trailers around by myself, and Tug makes it really easy not only to move, but to position in tight spaces.

The other active project is repainting my Renegade components. Haven’t paid enough attention to the old girl in a while, so she’s getting a new dress. Plank and springboard done, mast going into spray booth tomorrow. Thanks to Jeff Russell for the booth. Left over from his airplane painting years ago, so all I had to do was reassemble and buy new plastic. Came complete with intake filters and an exit fan. Fumes disperse quickly.

So much for now. Grateful to the veterans out there for all they have sacrificed for our freedom. And to those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice, Rest In Peace. You will always be remembered.

Boxing Day Skeeter & 4LIYC Ice Checkers Have the Day Off

Waiting for the Great Ice Maker.

Ken, Paul, Daniel Hearn, and Ron Rosten took advantage of the 48F weather here on Thursday, December 26 to assemble Ken’s Class A Skeeter, WARRIOR to learn how the components and sails fit together.  Everything went well and now we wait for an ice-making cold snap to get runners on the ice here in the Four Lakes area.
Needless to say, there’s no ice check scheduled for today. We’ve learned that Kegonsa had between 3.5 – 4″ of ice a few days ago but the warm temperatures do not inspire confidence. Rain is in the forecast as well. So, we continue to wait.

Saturday Skeeter Set Up


Sail guru Jim Gluek visited the Whitehorse/Krueger Skeeter shop today to look at the recent modifications on PK’s Class A Skeeter boom and spar. Recall that when they last set up the boat in June, it was one of the the hottest days of the year.