Sunset sailing today...Brrrrr.......
 

Going home tonight I spotted this hardy soul out doing some ice sailing. Looked like fun. But, geesh I was getting cold just watching....Brrrr.

I sent this pic off to Ulocal on WMUR too.:D

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Beautiful! Thanks for sharing that pic!

Where was it taken? Is the ice that safe already?

I was standing at the end of the Tuftonboro Town Docks (19 Mile Bay) at the time I saw the sailor out and going back and forth. Last week I saw a boat cutting through the ice and that broken path left a bad section that the ice sailor did not cross onto.

not sure
 

Not sure where that was taken but when I drove up last Saturday, Wicwas on 104 was frozen over solid with people out ice fishing but went past Merideth Bay and it was all water.

Blurrrrr...
 

I don't think there's an iceboat picture in Photopost, and this one has a nice contrasty sunset color, so... :)

Every "Ice-In", I get jazzed by an iceboat pictured at this forum, and go look up iceboat stuff.

The World's Speed Record for iceboats is 143-MPH—set years ago.

So many conditions have to be carefully aligned that it's nearly impossible to break that record. Judges must be prepared to wait for weather and ice conditions to optimize. A "weather window" also needs to coordinate with the entrant's vacation leave time. ;)

1) Ice must be smooth and flat. (A little rain helps, prior).
2) Course on the ice must be free of snow.
3) Too much wind is a hazard.
4) Too little wind is challenging (Iceboats often must be push-started).
5) Direction of wind (A two-way run on the same course is required, although the existing record included "altering tack" in the middle of the return run!)

Using two runners (by lifting one runner through the force of the wind) produces the fastest speeds. Failures of essential hardware (mast, rigging) are not uncommon.

Sailors of these things say that being so close to the ice is a terrifying blur even at reasonable speeds (for iceboating). The roar of wind and screeching of steel-on-ice adds to the effect.

Never having sailed an iceboat and not knowing many iceboat classes, the class of this iceboat is unknown to me. :confused: Sail number 17 suggests a low-production class—perhaps it's homebuilt—perhaps it's made of wood! :confused:

It's quite the winter sport—and not expensive—but if the conditions were right, I don't blame this guy for "giving it a go" this early in the season. :look:

The DN 60 (Detroit News, 1937) is the largest "One Design" iceboat class in the world with almost 6000 boats worldwide. Most, if not all iceboats, DN and otherwise, are homebuilt and many of the builders are skilled craftsmen when it comes to working with wood..the most popular building material.

"One Design" means there are strict rules as to materials and dimensions allowed to compete in sanctioned racing.

There are many Odd configurations of boat which people put together that don't fit into any particular class as far as racing is concerned. Innovation is always going on in ice boating circles to improve speed, comfort, or ease of assembly. Ice boats must be portable as it is almost always necessary to travel to find good ice.

The boats must be assembled On Site and typically take a minimum of half an hour to assemble. Bigger boats than a DN for example, can take over an hour to assemble...depending on how much "shooting the breeze" goes on with fellow enthusiasts. Ice boaters DO like to talk. :look:

Some of the latest technology can be seen in carbon fiber masts that bend like a pretzel under load and cost thousands of dollars to buy or build yourself.

There are a few individuals out there that specialize in building certain parts..such as masts, hardware, rigging, runner planks, and once in awhile a fuselage... (hull). Although there have been limited sources in the past, you can't just go to a store and buy an iceboat. If it's available at Wally Mart it's not an iceboat, it's just a toy.

The original appeal of the DN was that it could be cartopped, where anything larger or heavier needs to have a custom built trailer. The "Big" boats require a few helping hands to help carry the parts down to the ice for assembly. Most times the ice is not conducive to roll the trailer on to.

On Lake Winni, Spring is the best time to iceboat, when the snow settles during the day and freezes at night allowing a few hours of sailing before the ice softens in the afternoon sun. Sometimes you luck out and yesterdays.. or the days before ice will ice out and re-freeze to new black ice. Heaven. :) :)

Contrary to popular belief, an iceboat that Lifts a runner is wasting power, as a perfectly tuned and balanced boat will transfer ALL the sail power to foreward motion and not into Lifting the boat. Normally when the boat encounters a wind gust the runner plank will "squat" down closer to the ice and accelerate the boat ahead. Lifting a runner is called "hiking". NB (Ice Boater for 40 years, Now Retired)

Sailing's Diff'rent Strokes...
 

Interesting.

In multi-hull sailboats, lifting one or two hulls is the fastest way around a race course. A friend just sent me a timely photo of competitor "USA" (formerly "BMW-Oracle") in this week's America's Cup racing:

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/package...L/33172584.JPG