An ice boat is a boat

Boat

A boat is a watercraft of any size designed to float or plane, to provide passage across water. Usually this water will be inland or in protected coastal areas. However, boats such as the whaleboat were designed to be operated from a ship in an offshore environment. In naval terms, a boat is a...

 or purpose-built framework similar in functional design to a sail boat but fitted with skis or runners (skates) and designed to run over ice

Ice

Ice is water frozen into the solid state. Usually ice is the phase known as ice Ih, which is the most abundant of the varying solid phases on the Earth's surface. It can appear transparent or opaque bluish-white color, depending on the presence of impurities or air inclusions...

 instead of through (liquid) water

Water

Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...

. Ice yachting

Ice yachting

Ice yachting is the sport of sailing and racing iceboats, also called ice yachts. It is practiced in Austria, Germany, Great Britain, Poland, Norway and Sweden, to some extent, and is very popular in the Netherlands and on the Gulf of Finland, but its highest development is in the United States and...

 is the sport

Sport

A Sport is all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical fitness and provide entertainment to participants. Sport may be competitive, where a winner or winners can be identified by objective means, and may require a degree...

 of sailing

Sailing

Sailing is the propulsion of a vehicle and the control of its movement with large foils called sails. By changing the rigging, rudder, and sometimes the keel or centre board, a sailor manages the force of the wind on the sails in order to move the boat relative to its surrounding medium and...

 and racing iceboats. Sailable ice is known in the sport as "hard water" versus sailing on liquid or "soft" water. A related sport, land sailing

Land sailing

Land sailing, also known as sand yachting or land yachting, is the act of moving across land in a wheeled vehicle powered by wind through the use of a sail. The term comes from analogy with sailing. Historically, land sailing was used as a mode of transportation or recreation...

, utilizes a configuration with an iceboat-like fuselage or frame equipped with wheels instead of runners. Iceboats commonly used for racing are usually only for one person, but several classes of two-seat and multiple-seat iceboats are more or less common. On some boats, a "side car" can be fitted to take others along for a ride.

History

Traditional iceboats from before the late 19th century were used for transportation of goods and racing. These boats reached lengths of 30 to 50 feet (15.2 m) and were sometimes transported between sites on rail cars. Ice sailing was first developed in Europe. In America, it was done in several locations where the sport also continues today. Many active ice sailing clubs are thriving in the northern States and Canadian Provinces, including on the Hudson River

Hudson River

The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...

, Long Island Sound

Long Island Sound

Long Island Sound is an estuary of the Atlantic Ocean, located in the United States between Connecticut to the north and Long Island, New York to the south. The mouth of the Connecticut River at Old Saybrook, Connecticut, empties into the sound. On its western end the sound is bounded by the Bronx...

, Detroit, Michigan

Detroit, Michigan

Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...

, Sandusky, Ohio

Sandusky, Ohio

Sandusky is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Erie County. It is located in northern Ohio and is situated on the shores of Lake Erie, almost exactly half-way between Toledo to the west and Cleveland to the east....

, Gull Lake, Michigan

Gull Lake (Michigan)

Gull Lake is a lake in the U.S. state of Michigan, located mostly in Kalamazoo County with the northern tip extending into Barry County. The nearest major cities are Kalamazoo, to the southwest, and Battle Creek, to the southeast. The name was probably derived from the seagulls which at times...

, Lake Muskegon, Michigan

Michigan

Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

, Geneva Lake

Geneva Lake

Geneva Lake is a body of freshwater in southeastern Wisconsin in Walworth county. On its shores are the city of Lake Geneva, and the villages of Fontana-on-Geneva-Lake, and Williams Bay....

, Wisconsin, Oshkosh, Wisconsin

Oshkosh, Wisconsin

As of the census of 2000, there were 62,916 people, 24,082 households, and 13,654 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,662.2 people per square mile . There were 25,420 housing units at an average density of 1,075.6 per square mile...

, Hamilton Bay, Ontario, Ghost Lake, Alberta

Ghost Lake, Alberta

-References:...

 and on other venues as far south as Decatur and Springfield, Illinois. Some of the older large "stern steerer" iceboats can seat several in their "baskets." Several of these boats are maintained and raced today. The Northwest Ice Yacht Association sponsors an annual regatta

Regatta

A regatta is a series of boat races. The term typically describes racing events of rowed or sailed water craft, although some powerboat race series are also called regattas...

 that includes classes for these boats. This annual regatta recently celebrated its 100th anniversary.

One unique type of ice boat has its history in wide, stubby, scow-like vessels used in the 1800s, often for transportation across a mixed passage transitioning over sea-ice and open water. Wildly sailed by adjusting main and jib sail trim only, these boats had no rudder. Parallel rails were mounted on the bottom, like multiple sled runners. These early vessels (called an "ice scooter" or "bay scooter") were capable of simultaneously and daringly traversing both open water and jumping onto stretches of ice and were used primarily for winter transportation to and from lighthouses and for ice fishing

Ice fishing

Ice fishing is the practice of catching fish with lines and fish hooks or spears through an opening in the ice on a frozen body of water. Ice anglers may sit on the stool in the open on a frozen lake, or in a heated cabin on the ice, some with bunks and amenities.-Locations:It is a popular pastime...

. In 1869, one of the largest ice yachts ever was built for racing on the frozen Hudson River

Hudson River

The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...

, called the Icicle

Icicle (yacht)

Icicle is the name of the largest ice yacht ever built. It was built for John Aspinwall Roosevelt for racing on the Hudson River, New York state in 1869....

. That boat occasionally raced the railroad which ran alongside the Hudson.

The first iceboats were adaptations of regular sailing boats, with a wooden plank fastened cross-wise at the front having a fixed runner at each end, and a steering runner attached to the bottom of the rudder at the stern

Stern

The stern is the rear or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite of the bow, the foremost part of a ship. Originally, the term only referred to the aft port section...

 (back). These early ice sailing vessels led to the development of boats designed strictly for racing on ice. These "stern-steerer" iceboats were generally rigged as sloop

Sloop

A sloop is a sail boat with a fore-and-aft rig and a single mast farther forward than the mast of a cutter....

s, with a jib

Jib

A jib is a triangular staysail set ahead of the foremast of a sailing vessel. Its tack is fixed to the bowsprit, to the bow, or to the deck between the bowsprit and the foremost mast...

 sail forward of the mast, although the catboat

Catboat

A catboat , or a cat-rigged sailboat, is a sailing vessel characterized by a single mast carried well forward ....

 style with a single sail was also used.

The traditional stern-steerer boats were largely replaced by front steering boats in the 1930s, following the development of this style by Walter Beauvois of Williams Bay, Wisconsin

Williams Bay, Wisconsin

Williams Bay is a village in Walworth County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 2,415 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Williams Bay is located at ....

 in a boat named the Beau Skeeter. This boat led to the "Skeeter" class, and the Skeeter Ice Boat Club formed on Geneva Lake

Geneva Lake

Geneva Lake is a body of freshwater in southeastern Wisconsin in Walworth county. On its shores are the city of Lake Geneva, and the villages of Fontana-on-Geneva-Lake, and Williams Bay....

, Wisconsin. The Skeeter class adopted the logo of a mosquito on their sail, and has evolved into a very efficient aerodynamically clean machine. While the large stern-steerers could have up to 600 square feet (55.7 m²) of sail, the Skeeter class is limited to just 75 square feet (7 m²) of sail.

In 1937, The Detroit News sponsored a new home-buildable ice boat design, which became the International DN

International DN

The International DN is a class of ice boat. The name stands for Detroit News, where the first iceboat of this type was designed and built in the winter of 1936-1937...

. In 1968 Dick Slates of Pewaukee, Wisconsin

Pewaukee, Wisconsin

Pewaukee is a city in Waukesha County, Wisconsin. The population was 11,783 at the 2000 census. The city was incorporated from what was formerly the Town of Pewaukee. The Village of Pewaukee, which was incorporated out of the town before it incorporated as a city, is surrounded by the city...

 designed and built the Nite with two wooden prototypes. The design was refined and fiberglass production began in 1970.

Modern designs

Modern iceboats designs are generally supported by three skate blades called "runners" supporting a triangular or cross-shaped frame with the steering runner in front. Runners are made of iron or steel and sharpened to a fine edge, most often cut to an angled edge of 90 degrees, which holds onto the ice, preventing slippage sideways from the lateral force of the wind developed by the sails. Once the lateral force has been effectively countered by the runner edge, the remaining force of "sail-lift" vacuums the boat forward with significant power. That power increases as the speed of the boat increases, allowing the boat to go much faster than the wind. The only seeming limitations to iceboat speed are windage, friction, the camber of the sail shape, strength of construction, quality of the ice surface and the level of skill, athleticism and fearlessness of the sailor. Iceboats can sail as close as 7 degrees off the apparent wind.

Modern designs of iceboats are very efficient, utilizing aerodynamic designs and low friction, and can achieve speeds as high as ten times the wind speed

Wind speed

Wind speed, or wind velocity, is a fundamental atmospheric rate.Wind speed affects weather forecasting, aircraft and maritime operations, construction projects, growth and metabolism rate of many plant species, and countless other implications....

 in good conditions. International DN

International DN

The International DN is a class of ice boat. The name stands for Detroit News, where the first iceboat of this type was designed and built in the winter of 1936-1937...

 iceboats often achieve speeds of 48 knots while racing, and speeds as high as 59 knots have been recorded. Skeeters and older large stern-steerer iceboats can exceed 90 knots. The rumored, but unconfirmed, top speed of an iceboat is over 130 knots. One reference to a timed run on Lake Geneva, Wisconsin reported an "E-Skeeter" as having reached 137 knots. The same reference reported clocking a DN 60 iceboat on a closed course over black ice on Green Bay, Wisconsin at 94 knots. The stern-steerer Debutaunte, recently rebuilt, was timed over a measured mile at 124 knots on the ice of Lake Winnebago

Lake Winnebago

Lake Winnebago is a freshwater lake in eastern Wisconsin, United States. It is the largest lake entirely within the state.-Statistics:...

, Wisconsin in 1938.

Because of the very high potential boat speeds, iceboat race courses are established around fixed marks which are to be rounded in a one-way route. The courses are deliberately set in a straight line upwind and downwind, though the boats have to tack back and forth to advance through the course. This course configuration provides a measure of traffic safety between competitors. Also, by directing the iceboat straight upwind or straight downwind, the sailor can best control and prevent the sail from generating excessive horsepower, resulting in the slowest directions of travel. Recorded racing speeds for an International DN

International DN

The International DN is a class of ice boat. The name stands for Detroit News, where the first iceboat of this type was designed and built in the winter of 1936-1937...

 in 9 knots winds are 26 knots upwind, and 35 knots downwind. A downwind speed of 49 knots was recorded at a World Championship in winds of just 13 knots.

Iceboats are not produced commercially on a wide scale, but remain largely the province of hobbyists and enthusiasts building with high quality wood and plywood and more exotic materials such as foam, carbon fiber, fiberglass and epoxy. There are no known governmental licensing or registration requirements. Several classes are organized and boats must conform to the designs and rules of the classes in order to race.

Classes

The International DN

International DN

The International DN is a class of ice boat. The name stands for Detroit News, where the first iceboat of this type was designed and built in the winter of 1936-1937...

 class is the most popular class in both North America and Europe. It is a one-person wood boat twelve feet long with a cross "plank" eight feet long and carries a mast 16 feet (4.9 m) high. Modern competitive DNs use flexible masts commonly made of composite materials. See idniyra.org or icesailing.org. As noted above, the DN 60 name came as a result of a request published in the late 1930s by the Detroit News newspaper for a design to build a relatively inexpensive one-person iceboat that showed excellent performance, yet could be quickly built and sailed easily. The high-performance, modern DN is a far cry in materials and construction from the original design selected by the Detroit News. Yet, many of its one-design features are exactly the same as the original boat, including the basic aerodynamic fuselage design, runner configurations and 60 square feet (5.6 m²) of high-performance sail.

The Skeeter class is divided into sub-classes (A, B and C) all of which are limited to 75 square feet (7 m²) of sail area. A class boats are single seat, have mast heights in excess of 26 ft and include bubble boats and rumble seaters. These boats are the fastest skeeters around and are on the cutting edge of technology using carbon fiber in their construction. B class skeeters are two seat boats (side by side seating) with 23 to 25 ft masts, examples of B skeeters are the eastern Yankee and western Boe-Craft skeeters (www.boecraft.com). C class skeeters are single seat and are limited to a mast height of 20 ft 3in or less. Some one-design classes have evolved within the C Skeeter class as well. These include the Nite, Renegade and J14 (C class), which have a wide and enthusiastic following, and several locally popular classes at iceboating locations. The International Skeeter Association holds an annual regatta to bring all the classes together to race. The skeeters have a limited number of rules, including a requirement for a cloth sail, and some restrictions on mast profile. Modern "A" skeeters are the fastest boats on ice. Some have fully enclosed cockpits and mast heights up to 30 feet (9.1 m). The "A" class sail is measured at 72 square feet (6.7 m²), which is the area of the triangle between the ends of the boom

Boom (sailing)

In sailing, a boom is a spar , along the foot of a fore and aft rigged sail, that greatly improves control of the angle and shape of the sail. The primary action of the boom is to keep the foot of the sail flatter when the sail angle is away from the centerline of the boat. The boom also serves...

 and the top of the mast. The actual sail area is much larger, as the "roach" of the sail outside this triangle is unmeasured. Also, the wing-mast and large aerodynamic boom is also unmeasured.

Icy areas

Iceboating's popularity is primarily limited to the northern continental United States and Europe, as few places elsewhere have ice thick enough to safely use the vessels for an extended duration. Despite the ephemeral nature of perfect racing conditions in which a steady not-too-cold breeze combines with a broad stretch of flawless black ice, regatta

Regatta

A regatta is a series of boat races. The term typically describes racing events of rowed or sailed water craft, although some powerboat race series are also called regattas...

s are held regularly, including local, regional, continental and world championships. It has been rumored that the 2014 Winter Olympics will include iceboating as a demonstration sport. This rumor has been supported by recent Olympic Committee visits to the past two DN World Championships. Ms. Whiters, a two-time American Iceboat champion, confirmed this rumor in a recent interview with Iceboat magazine. In the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 there are active regattas around the Great Lakes

Great Lakes

The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...

, and Lake Winnipesaukee

Lake Winnipesaukee

Lake Winnipesaukee is the largest lake in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. It is approximately long and from wide , covering — when Paugus Bay is included—with a maximum depth of ....

 in New Hampshire

New Hampshire

New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...

, to Lake Minnetonka

Lake Minnetonka

Lake Minnetonka is a lake in the U.S. state of Minnesota. Throughout its recorded history, the lake has been a resort destination. It is located west-southwest of Minneapolis-St. Paul. The lake is an irregular shape with numerous bays and islands which make up about of shoreline...

 in Minneapolis, MN, and in Wisconsin

Wisconsin

Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...

 at Pewaukee Lake

Pewaukee Lake

Pewaukee Lake is a lake located in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, United States. Lake Pewaukee is the largest lake located in Waukesha's "Lake Country." The lake is west of Milwaukee, Wisconsin and is approximately 5 miles long and 1 mile wide. The deepest part of the lake is 46 feet.The lake is...

, Geneva Lake

Geneva Lake

Geneva Lake is a body of freshwater in southeastern Wisconsin in Walworth county. On its shores are the city of Lake Geneva, and the villages of Fontana-on-Geneva-Lake, and Williams Bay....

, Lake Winnebago

Lake Winnebago

Lake Winnebago is a freshwater lake in eastern Wisconsin, United States. It is the largest lake entirely within the state.-Statistics:...

 and the lakes surrounding Madison

Madison, Wisconsin

Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....

, several lakes in upstate New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 and several Western lakes. All are within the "ice belt" of approximately 40°N latitude to 45°-50°N latitude where it gets cold enough to freeze water to several inches thick before snow covers them. There is an active group of sailors on the Chesapeake Bay

Chesapeake Bay

The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...

, where sailable ice appears irregularly. Once a thick snow fall occurs, iceboaters must wait for the snow to melt completely then refreeze or travel to another lake/area. The preferred condition of "black ice" is smooth clear ice that has no snow and has frozen in a state of smoothness. Thus, the far north cannot support iceboating well, as the snow comes early and does not melt, and further south the freezing does not produce consistently safe ice.

Among avid iceboaters and racers, safety always comes first, including consideration for one's fellow competitor. The sailing and Rights-of-Way rules are written, enforced and are expected to be known and conformed with by everyone who sails. Speeds reached, parallel, crossing and closing, are often very high. Visibility can be limited by changing conditions. Protective sailing apparel, such as a wind-chill-proof suit, helmet, goggles, gloves and spiked shoes are recommended. Safe conditions of sailable ice can change quickly with variations in precipitation, ambient light, temperature and wind. Newcomers to the sport should seek out experienced "hard-water" sailors in order to gain support and advice on safe sailing conduct.

External links

• "Speedy Iceboat Seats Four", December 1931, Popular Mechanics construction of typical 1930s iceboat
• International DN Ice Yacht Racing Association
• Michigan Iceboating and J14 iceboats
• International Nite Class Association
• Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club
• Minnesota Iceboating
• Elk Lake Michigan Iceboating
• Lake Balaton: in English
  Lake Balaton
  Lake Balaton is a freshwater lake in the Transdanubian region of Hungary. It is the largest lake in Central Europe, and one of its foremost tourist destinations. As Hungary is landlocked , Lake Balaton is often affectionately called the "Hungarian Sea"...
  
  
• Lake Balaton - in the Hungarian wiki
• The South Bay Scooter Club is the oldest Scooter club in the United States. Established in 1921 the club pursues active ice-boat racing in the winter-time.
• European DN site
• North American Landsailing Association
• Stockholm Iceyacht Club - Sweden. Founded 1901.
• Monotype-XV iceyacht - Europe, 15 m² and 2-seated.
• Ghost Lake Iceboats
• New England Iceboat Site
• Iceflyer - Rafale en Francais.
• Putting Numbers on Iceboat Performance
• West Michigan Ice Yacht Club