At 4:00 pm today the DN North Americans Hotline Announced that Lake Pepin at Lake City is the Primary Site for the DN North American Championship Regatta.

Details will be posted on this thread later this evening... and now a word from our sponsors...

This world class regatta is once again brought to you by the ice checkers of the Minnesota Ice Sailing Association... "Let us carry your runners down to the ice for you, if you don't like the ice, come and tell us, we'll try to do better next time"

A tip of the helmet to ice checkers here and in other regions who make this event happen, in particular:US 3433 in Oshkosh, US 5287, Jay Davis (on the ice yesterday and today without success in Okoboji IA!!!, I personally appreciate this effort; Rumrunr (Ed Newcomb) of Pepin, WI for the "head's up!"; US 5366 for getting up this morning before sunrise for all you unwashed travellers, and driving 90 miles on a lark; and to US 5369 for sailing the ice this afternoon, ... and for letting me take a rip on his yacht, it's good ice, maybe better.

Two heartening reports for week 7 in Minnesota, and for the DN NA Regatta Committee,

There's good ice on Lake Pepin!

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RumRunr reports by email at Pepin WI... " didn't get out on the ice but it looked pretty good at Pepin. We were about 90% clear on Sunday with a 1/2" of water on the ice. Had a couple of boats set up but no wind. I would expect that Lake City should be the same or better conditions.

Yesterday's snow missed the lake and all we had was a light mist last evening.

Few of the club members are setting up at Pepin tomorrow. Should be good sailing."

The DN North American Championship Hotline says... Start Driving to Fond Du Lac, WI!

Current Ice on Lake Winnebago,near Oshkosh, WI

Alright guys, this will be my last chance to get out on the ice before spring semester starts so where can i find decent ice? Is North East Iowa still sail worthy?

That's right... this is the sixth week in a row that Minnesota iceboaters have been on the ice with DN's...

Last weekend, thru Monday, 5 Minnesota DNers made the trip to execellent ice in Okoboji, Iowa, Iowa? OK, it's close enough to the Minnesota State Line that you can see it from the the sailing area, the "local Natl Weather Service" reporting station is in Jackson Minnesota. : ) We probably should have kept these lakes, never given them to Iowa, they get the early caucus, we get the lakes.

This weekend, we're looking at a DN Western Regional Regatta, boatable ice some place in Minnesota for six straight weeks... where have you guys been?

Several of us from northern Michigan hope to come to the Westerns. I see the IRIYA regatta has been postponed, are there any sites being considered for the Westerns or will they be postponed also.

I wonder if I can get some input on runner sharpening. I've been using a friends 72" or so belt sander and 100 grit belts (the only ones he has). I set it to 45 degrees and it seems to do a good job on my DN runners but is a little short for my Skeeter runners. I'm looking at buying or building a similar but longer set-up. Any advice? Also I have heard people mention stoning to touch up a slightly dull runner. What type stone do you use and what kind of jig do you use to maintain your 45 Degree edge? How about profile? Being a one set of runners guy, is there "standard" profile? If any

I would like to build a very cheap boat I bought a sunfish sailboat last summer for $35.00 and would like to use the mast and sail from it to build an iceboat. I have been an auto mechanic for the last 20 years and am a avid woodworker. Does anyone know of anybody doing this or any plans availible, Please help

thurs thru sunday. who is interested? where do we put on? stay with? how much snow on the ice from tue wed? more fri? anyone in okoboji respond to above questions and any interested parties in a road trip . tom meyer 612-432-8124

Hello All-

I'm an avid DN sailor from out east who has transplanted to Indianapolis for the winter- I'd love to get hooked up with other DNers in the Great Lakes Region for sailing, tuning and practicing.

If you and your group are headed to the ice let me know! My van is packed and ready to go. I promise not to make too much noise or get in the way... I'll bring turning marks and a case of beer.

Give a shout at 401-258-6230 or t_thieler@yahoo.com

Many Thanks! Look forward to hearing from everybody.

Think Ice!

T Thieler, DN US 5224

Look at your plank as your boats suspension (your sail is your engine, masts your transmission and runners your tires). Although this is the way some of the top sailors here in Michigan set up their DN's, it really applies to most all boats. If you are using the Sarnes stud plate attachment system, you need to put thin washers (spacers) under the ends of the plates. This helps prevent the plank from rocking when attached to the boat. No matter what system you use, don't allow the plank to rock. The next thing you need to do is to mount the plank on your boat and load it up to sailors weight plus 30-40 lbs..

Minnetonka: 4691 and others may try to sail Lower Minnetonka, this reporter has no ice conditions there to report.

Pulaski: 602 has been on a roll, calling for Friday Sailing, and putting the fleet on very good ice in the face of oncoming storms now twice this season!

5 DN's sailed yesterday on Pulaski,in Buffalo, MN, at sunset the lake was wet and substantially clear of snow... As it's on the west edge of the predicted snow track we're optimistic that it will remain in sailing condition for Saturday, boats remain set up there. Sailing should begin someplace around 10:00

Both a Traditional Course of about a between the marks and a Closed "WIT" course were set on Friday, according to 602, the lake is large enough to race a 50 boat fleet. The second try at WIT Course development on Friday was about 1:15 Minutes a Lap in size. Bring your GPS. I expect both Courses will be sailed Today on Pulaski.

From what I see there are two possiblities tomorrow. Any one know of any other good sites close by?
Where do you put on on Pulaski?
Thanks!

So I'm screwing around in the shop shimming my DN runners wondering how close the big shots runners are to being parallel. (by big shots I mean those guys that go by you really fast)
If I square my plank up with the wall that is 24' away and clamp my laser level to a runner, mark the wall, clamp it to the other runner, mark the wall and am off by an inch over the 24', that seems like a lot. But if you do a little trapezoidal math it figures out to be about .2 degrees off and it suddenly sounds much better. So obviously zero deviation over a vast distance is ideal, but...really...how much dev

be there in the am. ice should be quite good, temp, wind. sorry for you guys that need to work. tom meyer