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

2023 4LIYC Social Event: Please Join Us April 22

Trophy sipping time. Photo from the Bernard Collection. Andy Flom celebrating winning the Hearst Cup in 1939 sailing FRITZ.

Please join the the Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club as we celebrate the end of a successful ice sailing season at one of our favorite and familiar places, Springer’s On the Lake. RVSP today! Hope to see you there.

Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club Awards & Social Event
Location: Springer’s On the Lake, Stoughton, WI
Date: Saturday, April 22, 2023
Time: 5:30 – 6:30 Social Hour
6:30-7:30 Dinner
7:30  Awards presentation
Ticket: $40 cash or check (made out to 4LIYC) at the door
Menu: A buffet featuring roast beef, baked chicken, parsley buttered red potatoes, rice blend, green beans, garden salad, green beans, desert, and one drink ticket.
RSVP to debwhitehorse@iceboat.org

4LIYC Spring Social: Save the Date – April 22


We are pleased to announce that the Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club will officially conclude the season at Springer’s On The Lake, the home of some of the best ice sailing in the United States this year. Please save Saturday, April 22, and join us once again on Lake Kegonsa to celebrate ice boating. Stand by for the details.
What: Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club Awards & Social Event
When: Saturday, April 22, 2023
Where: Springer’s On Lake Kegonsa, Stoughton, WI

Regatta Watch: 2023 WSSA Postponed to March 25 – 26

Emil Fauerbach and possibly Andy Flom in the PRINCESS in front of the Fauerbach Brewery on Lake Monona, Madison, WI, c.1910s.

The 2023 Wisconsin Stern Steering Association regatta has been postponed to March 25 and 26. The next update will be Sunday, March 19. Check back here at that time. The Northwest Ice Yacht Association regatta takes precedence.

Andy Gratton

WSSA Secretary/Treasurer

Regatta Watch: 2023 Northwest Postponed to March 24 – 26

Ken Kreider hiking in his classic rear-seat Class A Skeeter POON

The 2023 NIYA Regatta is postponed to March 24 – 26. There are no sites currently close to having conditions for the event.

The next update will be Sunday March 19th.

Steve Schalk

Secretary/Treasurer

NIYA

Iceboating Goes to University

Boecraft Continuum

Boecraft Website
Meet Jared Kaesmeyer, a former Lake Geneva, WI resident and a recent graduate with a Master’s in Architecture. Jared’s thesis project was on iceboating, again proving that iceboating is a highly creative endeavor. Please let me know if you want to see Jared’s remarkable and unique 165-page thesis.

My name is Jared Kaesmeyer. I used to live in Lake Geneva, WI, and grew up hearing about and seeing ice boating. It always intrigued me. Since that time, I’ve gone to college at North Dakota State University and graduated with my Master’s in Architecture. As part of that degree, I had to create a thesis project. My thesis was on ice boating.

I spent 9 months developing a proposal for an iceboat cultural center in Lake Geneva’s downtown. I did research, and worked with Steve Schalk to get a better idea for the history and background. In the end, I designed a destination establishment that featured year-round display of ice boats in a prominent location downtown, with a workshop and event space for hosting year round training and events. The thesis went on to win an award, and in all was just such a fun process!

I have sent this to Steve, and thought I would share it with iceboat.org. Maybe you will find it interesting, or know someone else who may!

4LIYC Racing Update: Snow Means No Go

Tim McCormick R385 and cousin, Peter McCormick R309 racing Renegade iceboats on Lake Kegonsa, March 5, 2023. Photo: Ethan Brodsky

Heavy, wet snow has fallen on all lakes around Madison. There will be no club racing for March 11 – 12, 2023. However, this post is an excellent opportunity to share more photos from Ethan Brodsky.

 

Regatta Watch: 2023 WSSA Postponed to March 18 – 19

2007 Northwest at Menominee, MI. Photo: Chris Johns

The Wisconsin Stern Steering Association regatta has been postponed to March 18 and 19. The next update will be Sunday, March 12. Check back here at that time. The Northwest Ice Yacht Association regatta takes precedence.

Andy Gratton

WSSA Secretary/Treasurer

1954 Northwest History

DN iceboat plan c1950s from the files of John Bluel

1954 Northwest Archives
Since we are on the subject of the Northwest regatta, Kenny Beal, great-grandson of a long-time 4LIYC member, John Bluel, shared some of his grandfather’s documents with the club, including a report from Northwestern Ice Yachting Association Secretary Frank Meyer about the 1954 Northwest.

Rather than the typical three-day event, the regatta was held over two weekends in Pewaukee because of challenging weather conditions. The 4LIYC’s Carl Bernard won the A Class Stern Steerer title in MARY B, competing against Skeeter Iceboat Club’s Lou Loenneke of Lake Geneva.

1954 was the first year that the DN Class competed in the Northwest. The DNs had one race in bad weather, and the Northwest officials decided that the fleet would sail the remainder of their races in the Detroit area “as all the entries were from that vicinity.” Skip Boston won that first Northwest DN title.

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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

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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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