The November issue of Seahorse Magazine has published the first of a two-part article about Bill Mattison written by Carol Cronin. Despite never meeting him, she genuinely shares her awe about Bill’s unique talents and conveys a real sense of him through Peter Harken.
The magazine is subscription based.
After hearing so much about Bill Mattison’s amazing ability to ‘engineer and build anything’ I would have loved to have met him. And since he never just sat around maybe I could have watched those big meaty hands working away at one of his many skills. Scarfing a damaged iceboat plank. Repairing a carbon mast. Welding up a replacement piece for a photo developing machine. Or decorating a tiny wagon wheel for the model circus he started as a kid and continued to add to for the rest of his very full life. How could one man achieve so much success in so many different mediums, on so many different scales, from larger-than-life America’s Cup boats down to half-inch-to the- foot scale models?
-Carol Cronin
Iceboaters have a cliché: we spend 50% of our time building them, 35% talking about them, and 15% sailing them (your mileage may vary.) Ice sailors gathered at the Southern Wisconsin Iceboat Swap Meet and fulfilled the talking-about-them quota on Sunday, November 6, at the Delavan Lake Yacht Club in Delavan, WI. Veteran and new ice sailors gathered to exchange complete boats, sails, planks, hulls, and runners. It was a lovely sunny and windy day to be back where the iceboat swap meet all began, with the Skeeter Iceboat Club.
Next milestone – who will have first runners on the ice in North America?
Ron Sherry and Skip Dieball
Nite guys Don Sanford, Mike Peters, and Brad Wagner.
More ice talk next to some DNs on offer.
Iceboaters love models!
Susie Pegel continuing the family tradition of organizing and staffing the raffle table.
There’s a big story behind this guy and this boat. Ron Sherry and a Bob Kau-built Class A Skeeter. Ron won the 1996 Northwest Free-For-All trophy in this boat.
DELAVAN LAKE YACHT CLUB FALL FOOTBALL PARTY AND SOUTHERN WISCONSIN ICEBOAT SWAP MEET
Date: Sunday, November 6, 2022 Location: Delavan Lake Yacht Club, 1501 Cedar Point Drive, Delavan, WI Time: Iceboat swap meet starts at 10 AM (turn clocks back one hour the night before) What to Know
Everyone welcome
Admission free for swap meet, ample parking and grassy area.
Clubhouse open 9:30 AM, coffee available.
Bring items for raffle.
In case of inclement weather, smaller iceboat items can be displayed on tables inside clubhouse.
Buffet available for everyone from 11 AM – 1 PM. Menu to include: hot ham slices for making sandwiches, baked beans, pasta salad, cookies.
Price: $12
Packers vs. Detroit Lions at noon on TV
DLYC members can put charges on their accounts Non-DLYC members pay by credit card
“Yes, we’ve been busy! Got M-165 repair and paint job done. Rambl’n is ready to Rumble!” – Past Champions Iceboat Shop
DNs, Renegades, and Skeeters are in the Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club’s shops getting patched, painted, and tuned up. What’s in your shop?
Two Renegades have been getting the once over in an undisclosed eastern seaboard location. They’ll be ferried back to Four Lakes soon, ready for the Renegade Championship, Northwest, and 4LIYC racing.
Geoff Sobering repairs a DN under the watchful gaze of Don Sanford and Damien Luyet during one of the Nordhaus Boatworks famous Tuesday night shop sessions.
Past Champions Iceboat Shop explains their highly technical process of using water as a reducer: “It’s not so much the temp of water, it’s how slow the water cures the paint. I found the creek water behind Deb Whitehorse house to be the best overall reducer. Something about the natural nutrients.”
4LIYC Online Ships Store
The Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club has partnered with Coral Reef Sailing Apparel to offer a full range custom shirts, hats, and more. You choose your iceboat graphic – a DN, Nite, Renegade, or Skeeter. Add a last name, boat name or sail number to personalize your Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club Tech Shirt! Order a shirt or branded gear today.
Iceboating has attracted dreamers and creators since some guy in Holland first thought about attaching iron skates to a canal boat back in the 1600s. This past summer, David Janzen of Ontario, Canada, achieved his dream of building the biggest iceboat in the world. An iceboat that big needs big ice, and Janzen is hauling it to Thunder Bay, Ontario, this winter to learn how she sails. Tip of the Helmet: Mike Madge
By the numbers:
Mast 53′
Hull 70′
Plank 37′
Sail is under construction. By comparison, the stern-steerer DEUCE, mast 51′, hull 54′- 6″ and plank, 36′.
Minnesota’s Pat Heppert, who designed the C Skeeter cab-forward DRIFTER, has been in touch with Jansen during the project.
I admire David Janzen’s infectious enthusiasm and the extreme commitment to following an extreme dream and making it a reality. Truly impressive effort, and done on an average man’s budget. Follow your own path, and be your own hero. Can’t wait to see the smile on his face after that first sail that makes it all worthwhile.
Pat
