Chickawaukie Ice Boat Club

In spite of heading off to the woods for the start of bow hunting season, Bob Strezlewicz managed to get a coat of paint on his new Skeeter. By the time he gets that deer in the freezer and the hardware mounted it’ll be time to go sailing. Way to go, Bobby.

Andy Sajor has made some good progress on his old boat, cutting down and old Hobie Cat sail. Kevin Grindle and his guys on Walker Pond have made good use of these sails for years.

All he has left is to align the runners and upholster the seat.

Some one from the design department at U-Haul must have see Kevin at some point: look at the sails. The artwork featured on the sides of their trucks and trailers are destination icons: lighthouses, redwoods, etc., but who could have imagined that Lake Hopatcong and iceboating would make the cut?

No news from Pat and Chris, the two Whizz on Nantucket, but we can only hope that they’re too busy building to check in. Jory’s new Mini-Skeeter #46 is done and just awaiting his rig. Lots of people were afraid that because he is selling all his gear he was getting out of the sport. Nope: he’s just doubled down and lightened his load. He’ll have ICYWOOD at the swap meet and will sell her as a package or as parts, trailer as well.

CIBC hats and jackets will be at the meet to be picked up by those who’ve ordered, and hats for sale. If you’d like a jacket there is still time, but there is a minimum order of six. We have one order so far. Write me at hilltop@midcoast.com with questions. Deadline is this coming Tuesday night.

This season we’ll have a large screen web cam for Damariscotta Lake thanks to the efforts of Ryan Haskell. It’s almost ready to go live, and I’ll post it here when it does. Thanks Ryan!

There are those who can’t accept that there’s really a lake called Charcoccacocomanuhauccacoccchhaubunacuncamaucc actually exists. When Jory and I first sailed this fabulous lake in Massachusetts, we ate at a restaurant that had a map of the lake in the foyer. The name bordered the entire top of the map, and as we were walking out, marveling at all those letters, an old guy came in. I asked him if he was from around there, and if he could pronounce the name of the lake. Without missing a beat he rattled off a couple of dozen syllables as if he had learned them in grade school. It’s always amazing to find local cultural touchstones in our increasingly homogeneous world.

This, alone, would be an effective argument for travelling to iceboating venues beyond your normal horizons. You find treasures like this:

And then if you’re really lucky you’ll meet great people who will teach you how to pronounce it!

And speaking of meeting great people and finding treasures, don’t forget about the NEIYA Swap Meet Nov. 5 at the Nites of Columbus Lodge in Westboro MA, and the CIBC meeting at Dave Fortier’s the day after.

One harbinger of a cold winter is a bumper crop of acorns. Another is a proliferation of ice boat building and restoration projects. Deep in an iceboater’s bones there exists an autonomous hot line to the ice-crystal weather ball. These guys just know that this will be a cold winter.

Bobby Strzelewicz, on Lake Charcoccacocomanuhauccacoccchhaubunacuncamaucc (has a man and his lake ever been better suited to one another?) is building a small skeeter that will utilize a Gambit rig.

His use of blocks and wedges to clamp the bottom edge of his side boards is very elegant.

The decks are strip planked. It is Bobby’s own design; after many sleepless nights rolling the details around in his head, he went into the garage one day and in less than a week had the fuselage built. We can’t wait to see it out there on his lake, also known as Webster.

Speaking of strip plank decks, there are a number of new Mini-Skeeters. Frank Ables’s Rolling Rock #33 was previewed here back in June. He’s just finishing up the painting and promises to send photos soon. We are building one for Jory Squibb, #46, (ICYWOOD and all the gear are for sale!) which should give Frank a run for his money. Ryan Haskell has plans for #40, but is just getting started. Mike Acebo has built two, and Brian Langley one.

Over in Plattsburgh, on Lake Champlain, Andy Sajor has saved this small skeeter from the burn pile and hopes to have it on the ice this winter. He reports that it was designed by a local guy drawing on elements of many boats and utilizing a DN rig. It’s a tad smaller than a Whizz.

The CIBC fall meeting has been scheduled for Sunday, November 6 at Dave Fortier’s in Biddeford, ME. Meeting at eleven, followed by pot luck lunch. As always, the club will provide the protein on the grill; bring salads and drinks.
The NEIYA has their meeting and Swap-Meet-that-can’t-be-beat on the Saturday 11/5 at the usual location at the Nites of Columbus Hall in Westboro, MA. All the right stuff, and all the greatest folks. Don’t miss it. And the catered lunch is only ten bucks!

Response for the gear has been great! We met the minimum for the jackets, and are approaching the next quantity price break for the hats. Let me know what you’d like and we’ll have them well in time for the Fall Meeting, November 6 at Dave Fortiers. As always, the NEIYA will have their meeting and swap meet the day before, Saturday, at the Nites of Columbus hall, Westboro MA.
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