Since it was determined last weekend at Lake Pepin that I have a weak spine, this weekend it was time to man up. First I removed the ragged skin to the closest bulkheads, sideboard or stringer. Then I cut out the what remained of the old spine. The original T-beam was constructed of 5/8” Sitka, 2-1/2” wide with triangles underneath. I made the new T-beam out of 1” x 3” White Oak with two verticals on the bottom, triangles underneath and horizontally at the bulkhead joints. For additional peace of mind, I added a layer of 45 degree carbon and a layer of biaxial carbon around the entire beam, plus one more layer of carbon on the top. And finally, carbon gussets at each of the corners were the beam and bulkheads meet. This construction should be dramatically stronger than the previous, which would have been fine, had I just followed Pat’s plans.
Rather than using a traditional top-mounted mast ball track, which would have spread the load out across 14” or so, I used a 6” countersunk style. This required the removal of a fair amount of material directly under the mast ball, when the shorter length was already concentrating the load in a smaller area. The mistake I made was not accounting for these impacts. But the countersunk style looked cooler. (That’s what we call “solid” marketing thinking!)
The spine didn’t actually collapse, rather, the track twisted, blowing out the side of the original beam. It was breezy that day on Lake Pepin, so in addition to carrying a bunch of lead, the stays were slacked off, which caused more side load on the mast ball, hence, the twist.
Hopefully the Northwest will be “On” for the coming weekend, so I can give Lorem Ipsum another shakedown, and try to catch Pat!
The Western Region of the DN Class (WI, MN, IL, IA, IN, UP of MI) is hosting the DN World & North American Championship in just a few days. Ice sailors from Poland and Sweden are here to train on Lake Kegonsa. The regatta site information will be announced on January 18, 2023, on idniyra.org. Regatta information.
Boat preparations are underway for the first-ever C-Skeeter Polish Match Racing Championship. Current DN World Champion, Robert Graczyk, will face off with former DN World Champion, Tomek Zakrzewski, on Lake Kegonsa in Stoughton, Wisconsin this Wednesday, January 18. Weather permitting, of course. At stake is a meal of Polish delicacies including pirogies and Polish sausage. But none of that cold soup. The loser will treat the winner and the boat owners/race committee at the prize giving ceremony, which will take place sometime during the ‘23 DN Worlds/North Americans.
To date, only the Black Ice/Loren ipsum camp has responded to requests for information about boat prep. The Drifter camp remains shielded under a cloak of secrecy, no doubt working on another traveler-like innovation to create an unfair advantage.
To make sure the race track is level, the two competitors will trade boats after each race, and the championship will conclude after an even number of races. Clearly the Drifter camp strategists have failed to read the Notice of Race and Sailing Instructions.
Shop time with friends is a big part of iceboating and a long tradition with the Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club. Last weekend, a group of friends invaded Daniel Hearn’s shop and laid up a composite C Skeeter iceboat mast under the direction of C Skeeter maestro Pat Heppert. Want to build a C Skeeter? Plans here.
The Swedish company Sail Racing has released its latest Black Ice campaign, incorporating Skeeter class iceboats to market their technical clothing. Daniel Hearn’s C Skeeter, to be specific. Pat Heppert also makes an appearance in his C Skeeter on their website video.
Pat Heppert’s seeing double and working like a madman up in MN to get ready for the season.
Best ISA rule ever: “ 5.4 Each yacht shall carry on both sides of her hull a name, of the owner’s selection, in letters not less than 3” high, in a color contrasting to that of the hull side.” It’s an official rule, not a suggestion. But how do you go about picking a name? A proper yacht would bear the name of the owner’s spouse (like the Mary B), but these modern ice missiles are far from proper yachts, I don’t think they even float. Some pick a clever play on words relating to the cold winter (Icicle, Ice Scream, Frozen Asset). Others incorporate the boat design name (Nite Flight, Good Nite, Whizz kid, Wizzard, Cheese Whizz). Some have admitted their personality in their boat name (Instigator, Notorious, Rebel). Still others name it after their favorite things in life (see Ken Kreider).
So what’s with this total lack of creativity to pick a new name for the new boat. It turns out, I don’t have a choice anymore. A while ago, when in high school, I was sailing a DN that was super fun, but when it hit a snow drift, it seemed to either just stop, or hike up, or get kind of airborne. Meanwhile, Dad was right next me in his 700 lb Class E skeeter, and he would go right through the drift which would just absolutely explode into a spectacular white cloud of powder, and keep rumbling down the ice without any loss of speed.
So when we built my Renegade a couple years later, we had to pick a name. I thought “Drifter” because I wanted to blast through snow drifts just like Dad. Fast forward a few decades and the name kind of stuck. Every winter it seems like I am approached by multiple people who don’t really know my name, but instead ask me “Are you the Drifter?”. So I have finally come to terms with the fact that indeed I have no choice, it turns out that I am the Drifter.
