Welcome to iceboat.org

The Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club is one of the most active iceboat clubs in North America. We’ve been building and racing iceboats for over 100 years in Madison, Wisconsin, USA.

Ice Is Never 100% Safe.

Our ice reports are strictly for iceboat racers. Recreational iceboaters, kite boarders, cross country skiers, and ice fishermen should not rely on our ice reports. We have safety equipment. Do you?

Buy or Sell Your Iceboat

One of the best pages in North America to buy or sell iceboats and their parts. There’s also a complete list of vendors who will supply iceboats, sails, and their components.

Common Questions:

How can I get started? How fast can they go? How much do they cost? Is it safe?

Regatta Watch

Information about the ISA, NIYA, WSSA, Nite, and DN regattas.

Iceboat Classes

Learn about Skeeters, DNs, Stern Steerers, Renegades, Nites, and Ice Optimists.

The Rules.

The purpose of iceboat racing rules is to prevent collisions.

Ice Yacht Clubs

The best way to learn about iceboating and make life long friendships is to join a local club.

Why We Sail.

“If all our ice were glass, slightly wet, and all our air reasonably steady with lifters just where needed, sailing would be perfect. Sometimes we do find this, and it is worth waiting years to have. Meanwhile we must accept the more ordinary ice conditions, ordinary weather and wind, and gracefully accept snow, sometimes for weeks. Our ideal comes from time to time, the Great Maker gives only so much of the very best.” Charles H. Johnson.

Iceboating for Kids

Ice Optimists were created specifically as a youth trainer, designed to be easily built using commonly available materials, and to keep costs to a minimum.

UPCOMING:
It’s Building Season!
Wisconsin Iceboat Swap Meet:
Oct 19, 2025 @ Lake Geneva Yacht Club More information
Midwest Hardwater Sailors Swap Meet: November 8, 2025 @ Delavan Yacht Club More Information
4LIYC Meeting : November 2025

4LIYC Shipstore: Order custom iceboat shirts, hats, and gear. More information.
BURGEE:
 Order your 4LIYC Burgee
Pay Your Dues Online

NIYA: 2019 Notice of Dues

iceboating_madison_wisconsin

Photo: Joe Stanton

The Northwestern Ice Yachting Association is an affiliation of iceboat clubs formed in 1913 for the purpose of holding an annual regatta.  Iceboat clubs constitute the membership and now is the time for club’s to pay their dues of $20. If your club didn’t receive a Notice of Dues in the mail, please download and return to the NIYA Acting Secretary, Steve Schalk.

January 18, 29, & 20, 2019 (Friday, Saturday, & Sunday) is the first scheduled weekend for the 2019 Regatta.Please return any new agenda items for the 2019 meeting to the Acting Secretary Steve Schalk by December 1st. These will be added to the agenda from 2018. The Regatta notice and new agenda will be sent out and posted on Iceboat.org no later than December 7th. The Race Committee and Nomination Slate remains from the 2018 season as no meeting was held.

2019 NOTICE OF DUES NIYA

Mad Men On Ice: The Motor City & Iceboat Advertising

DN Iceboats in Car Advertising
Another in the series on the connection between Detroit’s auto industry and iceboating.
From the golden era of illustrations, an ad not from the car manufacturer, but from the company that supplied the body components for the Plymouth Duster, Budd. The iceboating theme fit right in with the idea of the Duster’s sporty body style.

In DN trivia,  sail number 265 was assigned to Barbara Frank of Pewaukee at the 1957 Northwest which was sailed on Lake Monona in Madison, WI. The sail number was transferred to William Perrigo in 1958. I suspect that the artist randomly chose the sail numbers.
Previous

Area Iceboat Shop Deconstructs to Reassemble

Krueger Whitehorse Iceboat Shop

Ken Whitehorse

In 4LIYC iceboat shop news, the Krueger-Whitehorse shop is being torn down and the contents relocated 50 feet north of its present location. This all began in the 1950s when Walter and Harry Whitehorse needed a place to work on their open-wheel sprint and midget race cars. Iceboats were added to the mix in the 1960s when Harry and Walter discovered a way to keep going fast in the winter. Paul Krueger has been in the shop since the beginning when he was a teenager, first turning wrenches on midgets and then working his magic on Skeeters.

Mad Men On Ice: The Motor City & Iceboat Advertising


Geoff Sobering emailed a link to this old favorite, a Chevrolet advertising newsreel from 1935 featuring a car racing a stern-steerer. A few days ago, Bob Rast posted the Oldsmobile magazine ad below in the 4LIYC Facebook group. (DN class records don’t indicate who owned 289)
Both got me thinking about how much Detroit’s auto industry and iceboating have been intertwined, not only in advertising, but in boat development and iceboat skippers who have ties to GM, Ford, Chrysler, etc.  Detroit has given us the DN and Elmer Millinbach, iceboat innovator.  Renegader Lorne Sherry (Ron’s father)  designed and tested trailer hitches for GM, DNers Paul Goodwin, Jim Grogan, Ted Flack, Rob Holman, and Leon Lebeau work in the industry. Photographer Gretchen Dorian’s family owned a GM dealership in Detroit.
Iceboat ads have been featured on this website previously but they are always fun to revisit to help get us fired up for the upcoming season. I’ll post a few more in the coming weeks. If you have a favorite and want to share it, let me know.

Oldsmobile DN Iceboat Ad

2018-2019 4LIYC Meeting Dates Announced

copyright_gretchen_dorian

Your attention, please!

Mark your calendars for all upcoming Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club meeting dates! Same place (Angelo’s Italian Restaurant), same time, and same great all you can eat pizza buffet for only $10. Look for a Notice of Dues postcard in your mailbox soon or click here to download the membership dues form.  Note that there are two Thursday meeting on the schedule as well.

2018-2019 4LIYC Meeting Dates
Location: Angelo’s Italian Restaurant
5801 Monona Drive
Monona, WI
Time: 6:30 PM alternate weeks
We meet downstairs and all are welcome.

  • November 14
  • November 29 THURSDAY
    Elections, Elect Fleet Captains. Vote on ISA & NIYA Agenda Items
  • December 12
  • December 27 THURSDAY
  • January 9
    Honor Roll Nominations
  • January 23
    Deadline for By-Law or Racing Rules Amendment Submission
  • February 6
  • February 20
    Business Meeting
  • March 6
  • March 20

WISCONSIN: Fine Art in America

Scott Smith Art Print Stern Steerer Iceboat

“Iceboat” by Scott Smith

Here is something for the Labor Day weekend to get you thinking ice. Via stern-steerer skipper Andy Gratton who recognized his WISCONSIN iceboat but not the shoreline, though he thinks it may be Pewaukee. The image was created by Wauwatosa artist, Scott Smith, and can be purchased as a print or greeting cards on the fineartamerica website. Below is another great image of WISCONSIN in hiking mode.

Photo: Gretchen Dorian

Jack Ripp: A 4LIYC Champion Is Honored

Jack Ripp Renegade Iceboat
One of our most esteemed members, Renegade champion and Honor Roll member, Jack Ripp, was celebrated recently with a big bash thrown for his 90th birthday. Jack still attends our bi-weekly club meetings during the season and has a wealth of knowledge about Renegade sailing and iceboating history. Several 4LIYC members attended the party and enjoyed catching up with Jack and eating a JACK FROST birthday cake. Happy birthday, Jack!

JACK RIPP CHAMPIONSHIP TITLES

  • International Skeeter Association 1961
  • Western International Skeeter Association 1981
  • Ice Yacht Challenge Pennant of America 1964 1966 1967
  • International Renegade Ice Yacht Association Regatta Championship 1987 1988 1991 1996

    Northwest Ice Yacht Assocation (NIYA)

  • NIYA Skeeter Titles 1957, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1966
  • NIYA Free For All 1962
  • NIYA Renegade Titles 1988 1989 1992 1998
  • Triple Crown 1967

Dog Days & Good Iceboaters

Iceboat Workshop
Stern-steerer news in this morning’s inbox from an undisclosed source – somewhere around Suamico, WI.

Sawyer Mafia “Erik & Ritch” working on runners for the ‘Gander @ the 311 skunk works… Good iceboaters as the dog days of summer are here.

Online Ship’s Store

Regatta Dates 2025

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Click for 4LIYC Meeting Dates

2024-2025

  • January 2 THURSDAY Honor Roll Nominations
  • January 15 Deadline for By-Law or Racing Rules Amendment Submission
  • January 29
  • February 12 Business Meeting 
  • February 26
  • March 12 Last Meeting of the Season

Location: In person at the Elks Lodge 711 Jenifer St, Madison, WI 53703

Time: 6:30 PM

YOU ARE SKIPPER NUMBER

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Lake Access Permits

A year-round permit required for designated launch sites in the City of Madison and Dane County Parks. Locations include:

    • Lake Mendota Warner Park Mendota County Park
    • Lake Monona Tonyawatha Tr. Olin Park
    • Lake Waubesa Goodland Park

Purchase Lake Access Permit Online.

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