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

An Interlude of Ice While We Wait

Hollywood Ice is Hollywood Ice in any language. Take a moment and enjoy this video from Serge Billet’s Facebook page. “Dream ice on December 18, 2021 in Bouverans”. Serge lives in the Comté region of eastern France.

Picture of the Week

Through the Harken Looking Glass…

Polish DN sailor Tomasz Zakrzewski P55 shot this clever photo at the Swedish DN Championship which was held over the weekend (December 18-19, 2021) on Lake Ymsen. Tomek placed 4th in a very competitive field. Results here.

Paint Your Skeeter Trailer

Bob Kau visits the Past Champions Skeeter Shop.

What do you do when your runners are sharpened, your Skeeters are ready for ice, and the temperature is a balmy 70F in the middle of December? The guys next door to iceboat.org HQ, Ken Whitehorse and Paul Krueger of the Past Champions Iceboat Shop, made good use of the day and painted their trailer. However, today’s falling temperatures moved the project back inside for wheel-bearing packing, almost as important as sharp runners.

HELLSBELLS


Welcome HELLSBELLS, Mark Isabell’s new Class A Skeeter build which he just painted. Mark named it after his father’s boat. I look forward to energetically saying HELLSBELLS every time Mark round the leeward mark when scoring.

Semi-Secret Shop News

Levitating Renegade mast.

In Renegade news, paint cans have been seen accumulating at the Ron Rosten shop, and word has it that Greg McCormick’s Renegade will be sporting a fresh paint job this season.

“Madison or Minnesota?”


Madison or Minnesota? Minnesota C Skeeter sailor Pat Heppert posted the photo and question on Facebook over the weekend. Unfortunately, the Madison area must live vicariously through our Minnesota friends for some time. This Wednesday’s forecast of 64F will not help with ice making in southern Wisconsin, but it’s all downhill temperature-wise from then.

The former Jerry Simon boat SIMONIZED IV belongs to Mike Maloney. Pat and Mike sailed on some beautiful ice north of Brainerd, MN, on Round Lake while the MN DN crowd crossed the highway to sail on 4″ of black ice at Gull Lake.

MARY B Film News


Via Don Sanford:

The Ice Boat Foundation is thrilled to announce that our documentary film, Mary B: Madison’s Legendary Iceboat has been accepted into the Green Bay International Film Festival. Plan a trip to Title Town (Green Bay) on Thursday, February 10, 2022. We’re screening the film at the Green Bay Distillery. There’ll be good food, good drinks and plenty of talk about iceboats—what a combination. The filmmakers will be there and look forward to seeing you. More info here.

Western Challenge Photos by Sean Heavey

Sean R Heavey: Western Challenge 2021 &emdash; Heavey_DJI_0288
The great thing about the Western Challenge is that Lake Christina is a day’s drive from Glasgow, Montana, home of photographer Sean Heavey.
He sends his apologies for not getting everyone because he spent a lot of time practicing flying the new drones and figuring out to cover the action with them. See the photos here.

Western Challenge Tune-Up Day

Skip Dieball and Chad Atkins get ready to push off.

Bright sunshine, moderately light winds, and reasonably hard ice made for a perfect first day on the ice at Lake Christina. Marks were set, and laps were run. We had just a dusting of snow in Battle Lake overnight, and we expect moderate wind and temperatures. “Father Nature shows up around noon and we’ll go from there.” Photos from Thursday, 2 December, 2021 on Lake Christina near Ashby, MN.

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

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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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