MISS MADISON On Display Sept 17-20 @ Marshall Park

by | Aug 29, 2025 | 2025-2026, Home Page, WSSA


Our friends at the Iceboat Foundation are setting up the historic stern-steerer MISS MADISON at Marshall Park in September in conjunction with the MC Nationals.
MISS MADISON Archives

MISS MADISON –  MC Nationals
Date: September 17 – 20, 2025
Location: Marshall Park
2101 Allen Blvd, Madison, WI 53705

Come check out a 98-year-old iceboat this September.

Built in 1927, MISS MADISON is the last Class A Madison-style iceboat to roll out of the Bernard’s boat house on East Gorham Street. While most of her sisters are long gone, she is alive and well and will be on display at the MC Scow National Championship regatta from September 17-20, 2025, at Marshall Park on Allen Blvd. in Madison.

Although we’ve had her in our collection for a few years, other projects kept us from putting her together. Paul McMillan recently volunteered to repair and repaint her spars. Paul took a wood sample to the experts at the USDA Forest Products Laboratory a few weeks ago. Experts there identified the wood as Douglas Fir. They’re solid, not hollow—just ask any of the volunteers who helped move them.

Paul reports that he repaired all the cracks with epoxy and is in the process of painting them with several coats of a high-gloss red enamel. He also repaired some of the loops on her 3/8” galvanized standing rigging. Paul says that she’ll be ready to go in time for the MC Regatta September 17-20, 2025. Save the Date!!

MISS MADISON on display in 2017

SOLD! July 30, 2025: Vintage 2-Seat Skeeter in WI

by | Aug 19, 2025 | Sold, sold-1

SOLD! Two-seat Skeeter. Very solid, comfortable, and exciting boat, especially for passenger in front. Comes with covers for boat, plank, and springboard, second set of runners, and trailer. Cable stays recently replaced. One owner and been riding in this for 60 years, primarily Pewaukee Lake.
Asking $2,800 / offer.

Think Ice! Iceboat Swap Meets Announced

by | Aug 13, 2025 | 2025-2026, Home Page

Stern-Steerers line up on Lake Winnebago in Wisconsin at the 2025 Northwest regatta. Photo by Rob Resnick.

Fall in Wisconsin means it is time to start thinking ice and time for the annual iceboat swap meets.
The Main Event — Back to Where It Began
The fall swap meet was started many years ago by Jane and Bob Pegel of the Skeeter Iceboat Club in Williams Bay, Wisconsin. For decades, anyone looking to get into iceboating or to buy or sell gear was told to “call Bob and Jane.” The swap became an annual tradition at Sailing Specialists in Williams Bay, timed for a Packers bye week .In recent years, the event has rotated between the Skeeter Iceboat Club in the Lake Geneva area, the Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club in Madison, and the Green Lake Ice Yacht Club in Green Lake, Wisconsin. This year, it returns to its original home turf in the Lake Geneva area, hosted at the Lake Geneva Yacht Club. Expect plenty of gear, camaraderie, a cookout on the lawn, and even a Bloody Mary bar.
The Other Swap — Midwest Hardwater Sailors
The second Fall Swap Meet, organized by Fred Stritt and the Midwest Hardwater Sailors, will be held at the Delavan Yacht Club. Along with food, bar service, and football, this year’s gathering will also feature a Dragon Force remote control sailing event after the swap.2025 Swap Meet Dates and Details

  • Lake Geneva Swap Meet — Sunday, October 19, 10 AM
    Lake Geneva Yacht Club
    1250 S Lake Shore Dr,
    Fontana-On-Geneva Lake, WI
  • New England – Saturday, October 25, 2025
    Thompson Motor Speedway
    Thompson, Connecticut
    More information
  • Minnesota: Saturday, November 1, 2025, 9 am – 12 pm.
    Sailcrafters
    7450 Oxford Street
    St. Louis Park, MN
    Tim Carlson at Sailcrafters ((952) 540-7474) is hosting his annual Iceboat Swap meet on Nov 1, 2025. We hope you join us. You can expect to see all types of iceboats and all types of used gear. If you are new to iceboating, this is the perfect place to meet local sailors and check out used equipment. If you are looking for new gear, Tim caters to the local iceboat community and can provide new sails, stays, line and everything in-between.
  • Delavan Swap Meet — Saturday, November 8
    Delavan Lake Yacht Club
    1501 Cedar Point Dr, Delavan, WI 53115

More Swap Meets Coming Up
Dates for these events are still to come, but here is what is usually on the fall calendar:

  • Canadian Swap Meet
  • Gull Lake Ice Yacht Club Swap — Michigan
  • New England Ice Yacht Club Swap — Usually in Connecticut

Whether you are new to the sport or a seasoned sailor, the swaps are the perfect chance to find parts, boats, and gear and to reconnect with the iceboating community before the season begins.