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4LIYC Meeting : November 2025
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4LIYC Burgee in the Netherlands
Previous: Iceboat Tourist in the Netherlands
Dutch Style Iceboats Archive
The Dutch ice sailing club, DeRobben, and Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club completed a burgee exchange. Our burgee is now displayed in Alexander De Vos’ reconstructed 19th-century Dutch shipyard. Don Sanford, a 4LIYC Nite sailor, received a DeRobben burgee during his visit to the Netherlands in the spring. Maybe we will see the 4LIYC burgee flying on one of DeRobben’s historic Dutch ice yachts in the future!
Iceboat Design Lab
4LIYC in Antigua
If you happen to visit Antigua Yacht Club, keep an eye out for the 4LIYC burgee, courtesy of Doug Kolner, a Renegader from 4LIYC.
Upcycle Your Fuel Tank Shell to an Iceboat
Here’s another intriguing discovery shared by Henry Bossett. At the dawn of the age of composites, Popular Mechanics suggested creating iceboat hulls from repurposed jettisoned plastic Naval fuel tank shells.
UPDATE: Here’s a note from someone who actually tried this.
After seeing your last post about discarded fiberglass fuel tanks, I thought I would send you two pictures of attempt by two knuckleheads putting together five pieces of the discarded Navy tanks for soft water version of our boat, later to be converted for use on the ice. The plan was by two seniors in high school to launch our dream boat in Northbrook IL. To then travel down the Mississippi to New Orleans and on return, to add runner plank, mast, runners and sail for our great venture in to ice sailing. Alas, we only made our river trip as far as Wheeling, IL before our spring trip became the second version of the Titanic! All former plans canceled.
Retired Iceboater
Ed Evans
Nite 433 & 72
The Crawfish
An unusual iceboat from the Richard Lichtfeld collection is up for auction on a website. Many years ago, Richard purchased the CRAWFISH from the Eibisch brothers in Columbus, WI. They presumably built the boat using plans published in a DIY magazine, potentially Modern Mechanics, in the 1930s or 1940s. Download the plans in a pdf file. The auction ends on July 19, 2023.
Being the Marks
Andy’s Iceboat Board Game
Lake Winnebago ice sailor Andy Gratton checks in with his version of an iceboat board game:
I was doing some catching up tonight and saw the nice iceboat game from Michael Young. That reminded me of the game my two kids and I used to play way b
ack when they were in grade school. I dug it out and included some pictures. We used markers and a spinner from another game. I would have made 3D-printed stern steerers for markers, but 3D printing was barely known. Everything on the game happened in the 1992 regatta at Oshkosh – Rosemary capsized, Todd Haines was thrown from Mary B, Country Woman broke the halyard, I think John Davis got stuck in a snowdrift, there was an ice shanty on the course, and more than one boat spun out. This isn’t nearly as fancy as the new game, but it’s fun for small kids. Print it off and play it if you want. Three laps!
Read Andy Gratton’s classic story, The Day The ROSEMARY Tipped Over.”
Iceboats Displayed @ Wayfarer Boatworks Open House in MI
Recently, Tim Bellerd from Wayfarer Boatworks in Ferrysburg, Michigan, organized an open house event where he showcased his Renegade boat. The windy weather kept the sail from being raised. If you are in the western Michigan area and are interested in building or repairing an iceboat, contact Tim.
Fourth of July
Icy Rider – Harley Powered Iceboats
Wisconsin is famous for iceboating and for being the birthplace of Harley-Davidson motorcycles. A rare iceboat powered by a 1918 Harley-Davidson J model 61/24 HP V-Twin engine is going up for auction in September. The Hudson River Ice Yacht Preservation Trust in New York is interested in acquiring this sled for its collection. The iceboat was likely constructed by someone using plans available in Popular Mechanics magazine or a similar source.
Backyard mechanics in the 1930s also used Harley engines in the Mead Ice Yacht Company’s ice sled kits, like the one below, from an article about rare Harley artifacts and ideas “that didn’t stick.”
Tip of the Helmet: Bob Wills, President of the Hudson River Ice Yacht Preservation Trust