Bull City
Bull City
Just opened my 2022 WoodenBoat calendar and January is an ice boat. So, I went to YouTube and searched on Ice Yachting. It was mesmerizing. Here's one to start with. It is amazing!
Ice Yachting on YouTube
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chester
Super Anarchist
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TheDragon
Super Anarchist
It is great fun, but not unusual for us to get only a couple good days a year. You have to be willing to travel alot to find good clear ice, or live in Montana.
A friend taking my daughter out for a spin last February on our little local lake.
A friend taking my daughter out for a spin last February on our little local lake.
ProaSailor
dreaming my life away...
This thread started six years ago:
Jim in Halifax
Super Anarchist
Many years ago I tried a DN on the frozen St. Lawrence River near Montreal. Probably the most fun sailing I ever did. I have looked longingly at ads for ice boats on Craigslist, Kijiji, etc. But where I live in Nova Scotia the ice conditions are seldom ever right for ice boating, so you have to be prepared to do a lot of driving. Cold is not a problem if you dress for it. I'd rather deal with -30 C than +30 C.
ProaSailor
dreaming my life away...
If there's ice, it's cold.
Not the brain-numbing cold of -40 in Saskatchewan, but cold regardless.
Diarmuid
Super Anarchist
I've been much tempted to build one, probably using a windsurfing rig. But I do wonder - Minnesota peeps clue me in, here -- how you see ice fishing holes and the frozen pile of shavings therefrom at 50mph, and what happens when you hit one. 
h34r:
A kitewing and skates or skis would give more terrain options and be less dependent on conditions.
https://player.vimeo.com/video/329404696?h=de5853720c&app_id=122963
ETA: Better vid showing range of use.
h34r: A kitewing and skates or skis would give more terrain options and be less dependent on conditions.
https://player.vimeo.com/video/329404696?h=de5853720c&app_id=122963
ETA: Better vid showing range of use.
Last edited by a moderator:
From second hand experience you'll crawl to shore and get nice carbon fiber knee brace.I've been much tempted to build one, probably using a windsurfing rig. But I do wonder - Minnesota peeps clue me in, here -- how you see ice fishing holes and the frozen pile of shavings therefrom at 50mph, and what happens when you hit one.
chester
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i remember an article in wooden boat (?) years ago about ice boats and their history...they talked about HUUUUUGE ice boats on the Hudson River and speeds in excess of 100mph, if i recall correctly.
chester
Super Anarchist
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https://www.wissa.org/ the world ice and snow sailing championships were in saskatchewan in 2001. the site says at cedar lake...it was on blackstrap lake 20 minutes south of the city. it was a modest affair with maybe 20 people their but there were Finns and Quebecers and a couple of guys from Poland! the rigs were a wild collection of mostly home engineered and adapted gear. My buddy had his windsurfer on skates, there was a couple of DN's and a few guys on skis strapped to kites...i think the whole kite thing has evolved since then. There was a local with a 3 corner "boat" with snowboards as skis, he claimed to be able to sail across stubble fields and pastures if the wind got up!6 hours ago, Diarmuid said:
I've been much tempted to build one, probably using a windsurfing rig. But I do wonder - Minnesota peeps clue me in, here -- how you see ice fishing holes and the frozen pile of shavings therefrom at 50mph, and what happens when you hit one.
A kitewing and skates or skis would give more terrain options and be less dependent on conditions.
https://player.vimeo.com/video/329404696?h=de5853720c&app_id=122963
