Previous: Elmer Millenbach Interview Part 1 Elmer Millenbach Interview Part 2 Elmer Millenbach Archives
Here’s the final installation of the Elmer Millenbach interview with historic video footage of Elmer winning a race on Lake St. Clair in the 1940s. Elmer’s wife, Cora Lee, also makes an appearance in the audio track. Cora Lee was vital in building the Renegade fleet, serving as Renegade class Secretary for many years. She also worked race committee at iceboat regattas.
Elmer Millenbach Archives
Here’s the second of the three-part Mystic Seaport Museum interview with Elmer Millenbach, designer of the Renegade class iceboat where he details the different design phases of the Renegade.
Detroit’s Elmer Millenbach (1912-1996), the creator of the Renegade iceboat, was arguably one of the most influential men in North American iceboat development. The boom of Ontario, Canada’s Class A Skeeter sailor Rob Intini carried the message “We All Play Elmer’s Tune” as a reminder.
Greg Whitehorse recently dropped off an interview with Elmer on a cassette tape recorded in 1989 by the Mystic Seaport Museum in Connecticut. Over an hour-long, I edited the interview into different parts for the listener’s convenience and added a slide show.
In part one, Elmer recalls the beginning days of the DN and his frustration that he “…couldn’t find out what a DN was,” inspiring him to develop new ways of designing iceboat components such as runners. He knew there would soon be competition from the new front steering boats to see who could go the fastest. “You get enough kiddie cars together, and pretty soon, there’s a race.”
Looking Back: Ice boating on Lake St. Clair St. Clair Shores Sentinel | Published February 7, 2021
ST. CLAIR SHORES — In this undated image, three two-person ice boats of the Racing 60s class are getting ready for competition on Lake St. Clair. Ice boating was popular on Lake St. Clair, particularly in the 1920s and 1930s (likely when this photo was taken) and into the middle part of the 20th century. Continue reading.
