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!
4LIYC Meeting : November 2025

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

Regatta Update: Northwest Postponed

The 1948 Northwest on Geneva Lake. More here.

Via NIYA Race Committee Chair Tim McCormick:

The Northwest Regatta is postponed until January 26-28. The next update will be on Sunday, January 21st at 8pm CST.

Air Force

Thanks to Jeff Russell for forwarding these pictures from his good friend Steve Jameson who was flying his Cessna over Lake Mendota on Sunday. I’ll have more photos from club racing, the DN Western Regional, and the WSSA regatta to post. Stay tuned!

 

WSSA Championship Final Results


Wisconsin Stern Steerers Championship Regatta

2018 WSSA									
January 13 & 14 2018									
"Results are final as of 12:48 on January 14, 2018"									
Overall									
"Sailed: 5, Discards: 0, To count: 5, Entries: 9, Scoring system: Appendix A"									
Rank	Class	SailNo	HelmName	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	Total
1st	A	A10	Erik Sawyer	1	1	1	1	1	5
2nd	C	C 25	Mike Peters	4	3	2	3	3	15
3rd	C	C 2	Peter McCormick	3	5	6	2	2	18
4th	C	V 49	Jeff Seeboth	5	2	3	5	5	20
5th	D	D17	Andy Gratton	2	4	4	6	6	22
6th	D	V 36	Joe Terry	6	6	5	4	4	25
7th	B	S 3	M. Wiener/D. Tess	9	7	9	8	7	40
8th	C	W	Mike Kroll	8	9	8	7	8	40
9th	D	D 7	Kurt Martinson	7	8	7	10.0 DNS	10.0 DNS	42
 read more...

Regatta Update: Northwest Called On for Jan 19-21


Via NIYA Race Committee Chairman Tim McCormick:

The Northwest Regatta is tentatively call ON for January 19-21. The primary site is Madison, WI but we’re expecting a snow event for the next 24 hours so we may postpone as soon as Monday, January 15th. We’ll keep you updated. Final confirmation will be made by Wednesday, January 17th at Noon CST.

…An ‘increasingly fickle sport’


Ice boats, ‘faster than any motorcycle,’ are part of Hudson history
Robert Wills Vice Commodore of the Hudson River Ice Yacht Club tells the story of ice yachting, an ‘increasingly fickle sport’
PUBLISHED JAN 13, 2018 AT 12:28 PM (UPDATED JAN 10, 2018)

But ice yachting wasn’t always a sport. Wills explained that there were iceboats in the region as far back as the earliest Dutch settlements. Those boats were utilitarian vessels for moving goods in the winter. One early record of ice boats dates back to the Revolutionary War and involves a plan to blow up British ships on Lake Champlain. There’s also an 1812 record of using an iceboat to deliver people and sheep from Athens to Albany.

Continue reading.

4LIYC Racing Report

DN Western Region Championship on Lake Mendota

Via Vice Commodore Tim McCormick

The Skeeters, Renegades, and Nites had some scrub racing today but it never reached 9F for official club races. We’ll try again on Sunday so come out and enjoy the great ice. It will be cold again tonight but it should be 10 degrees by noon so we’ll be racing. The DN regatta is using most of Middleton bay so we’ll likely need to race in the main body of the lake. George Gerhardt and I checked that area out today and it’s prime regatta racing ice.

2018 WSSA Results Day 1

Photo: Michael Kroll WSSA 3rd race line up on Pewaukee Lake.

Via Skeeter Haven-Ice Boat Scoring Central Mary Jane Schalk

Rank	Class	SailNo	HelmName			R1	R2	R3
1st	A	A10	Erik Sawyer			1	1	1
2nd	C	C 25	Mike Peters			4	3	2
3rd	C	V 49	Jeff Seeboth			5	2	3
4th	D	D17	Andy Gratton			2	4	4
5th	C	C 2	Peter McCormick			3	5	6
6th	D	V 36	Joe Terry			6	6	5
7th	D	D 7	Kurt Martinson			7	8	7
8th	B	S 3	M. Wiener/D. Tess		9	7	9
9th	C	W	Mike Kroll			8	9	8
 read more...

Online Ship’s Store

Regatta Dates 2025

Subscribe

Enter your email address to subscribe to iceboat.org and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 284 other subscribers

National Iceboat Authority Web Page



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

Web Analytics

TO ROUND THE MARK SINCE NOVEMBER 1999.



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.

Search