Chickawaukie Ice Boat Club

Dave Fortier once again opens his house to all iceboaters from far and wide this coming weekend. Sleep on the floor Saturday night if you’re on the way back from the NEIYA Swap Meet, or show up Sunday morning in time for a pot luck lunch and meeting after. Come ready to discuss iceboating issues, or to learn something about how the sport is pursued in Maine. Items to buy and swap are always entertaining. Often there are those with buyers remorse coming from the swap meet the day before. Their impulse becomes your bargain!

Directions to Dave’s: Maine Turnpike Exit 32, turn left at light onto Rte 111, drive for a couple of miles to a complex intersection. Turn onto West St., more of a bearing right, between a Burger King and a cemetery, go about 3 miles past a high school and through another light. At the next intersection turn Right onto Guinea Rd. then at about 1 mile turn left onto Cretien Rd. to second house from the corner on right (two buildings connected by a raised walkway).

Built loosely to Renegade specs, Fred Wardwell’s Frojoy is for sale. Includes nice trailer, runners, sail, etc. Enlarged cockpit opening for large skippers, featuring wind deflector. All ready to go. $3500.oo, in Maine. 207-342-5570

Bye the way, congratulations to Lee Spiller for his purchase of Frank Able’s Gambit, a boat well built to stand up to the ferocity of Moosehead!

Inspired by Bill Converse’s slide show on the NEIYA site, I updated the photos on iceboat.me. Most of the pictures have been featured on posts so you may have seen them, but this way they are far more accessible. The slide show function works very well. Just click onto any picture, it comes up full size very fast, and then click the little forward icon.

As always, we’re happy to post anything of ice interest. Just send it along. Someone who knows nothing of iceboating told me the other day that he’s heard it was going to be a very cold and dry winter in New England, but he couldn’t remember where he’d heard it. Oh well: this is as good a place as any to start rumors.

Don’t forget about the Swap Meet and NEIYA meeting on 10/26. The more stuff we all bring the more fun we have!

The die-hard iceboater, gripped by the slow tide of aging, is often prone to cravings. Often the first is the craving to be “in” something instead of “on” something while hurtling through space. Many of us have already responded to this craving. I sometimes borrow a DN after the lunch gathering out on the ice, and I find that the same old crude magic is still there. The scenery is zipping by so close at hand. But a half hour later, I ease into Icywood-DN, I pull the sheet extra hard, and I thank my stars. I’ve come in from the cold.

The second craving, especially when we learn where the rotator-cuff is located, is to do less overhead lifting. This craving can, of course, be bought off in various ways:

There are wheels and pulleys and such, but just as we’re solving this problem, a third craving appears: to have all the gear, every lick of it, in one single place. I felt that craving particularly last spring when I arrived at lovely Damariscotta with everything but my runners. 26 miles back home. 26 miles back to the ice. The lads were frolicking around.

So this October, with ice fever just starting to rise, when the iceboat dreams are re-appearing–and mine usually involve some sort of goof-up–I decided to take the plunge and have a trailer. So I went on Craig’s List and spent $400 on a narrow, light duty boat trailer:

Now the first big problem is getting the ‘tongue weight’ just right, which means in this case moving those wheels forward. You don’t want to load that trailer-jack with its little caster wheel too much, since the rolling surfaces are often rough; yet you also don’t want too much boat overhang such that you are ‘low-sided’ as you back down onto the ice. I think about 40 lbs of tongue weight would be ideal, if the overhang is not excessive. Here’s the modified trailer:

Tomorrow morning at 6AM the trailer and gear is heading to Supreme Master Trailer Builder, Doug Sharp, down in Lakeville, MA; who will build an appropriate box. Why should I reinvent trailers? He’s built two dozen. Can’t wait to see what he comes up with. With weather integrity and ventilation, it will sit outside year-round. With good planning and access, it will allow a one-person set up. I might even camp in it now and then.

I can’t believe this. No more seasonally hoisting the boat into the rafters. No more check-list. Just grab personal gear, pack lunch, and hitch-up. Why have I been resisting this?

Think Ice!

Mark Calendars for Oct 26 (Mass and swap) and Oct 27 (Maine and re-swap)

Jory

Built by Randy Rice with streamlined bow, Sarns runners, North main and storm sail. Freshly painted, tuned and sailed last season. Asking $3200.oo Frank, at: elaineandfrank@gmail.com