Some may not know this but there is a fairly strong yet small fleet of Ice and Land Sailors within the Inland NW. Of interest is the effort to expand the ice/land sailing fleet of Mini Skeeters, a boat 10 feet in length, 82 inches wide where the ice blades meet the ice, and 18 (5.5 meters) or 13 (4 meters) square feet of sail. The Skeeter design is a low cost way of getting into ice and land sailing as compared with other ice/land sailing designs. Costs of course to build one depend on your preference of materials and low or high cost sailing components.
Most of the Ice sailing takes place on Flathead Lake, or on the surrounding smaller lakes, or at Canyon Ferry Lake in Montana as well. Sprague Lake along Interstate 90 on the west side of Spokane County is also an excellent ice sailing location. One must watch the weather reports to insure there is enough wind to get up and go. 3 knots of wind is minimal wind needed but 5 knots is a good point to enjoy a day out and 15 knots and above can be the point where its as bit to risky to sail depending on skill level.
With a skilled sailor on ice one can hit a top speed of 60 mph and on land up to 75 mph. When built correctly Skeeters are a durable design that will last for years of exciting sailing. For those of us who sail on soft water getting into ice sailing can be a great way of getting ones sailing fix in the winter. Heading down south in the winter one could try their hand at land sailing. Either way ice/land sailing is exciting and when joined by others the fun is increased exponentially.
Of course knowing how to sail is a plus, a big plus, especially at the speeds you will be traveling. Knowing how to power up and de-power the boat is essential to a safe sailing experience. As one can imagine having a head on collision at 50 mph with another ice/land boat would be deadly. Visit this link to sign up for a sailing class http://funtosail.blogspot.com/p/lessons.html John Eisenlohr of Montana has thus far sold about 100 plans to people who have or will build their mini Skeeters. Plans cost $70 (2018) and sold at Ducks Works boat builder supplies https://bit.ly/2RxQGDj . If you need help building your Skeeter John will certainly give you some guidance (post a question on his youtube channel or look him up on Facebook). From time to time, he does offer a building session in Montana, where interested parties can get together and build them at the same time and place. Great way to build your Skeeter if you have never built something like this before, or never built anything before. To learn more visit his youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/user/US772/videos Mini Skeeter Design Specs LOA: 10′ 1″ Beam: 6′ 10″ Designer Name: John Eisenlohr of Lakeside Flathead Lake Montana Launching Date: January 23, 2015 Contact and additional informationFacebook communication and info site https://bit.ly/2DXbxf2 Youtube https://www.youtube.com/user/US772/videos Plans email John Eisenlohr at jlsbfam@centurytel.net (copy and paste into your email system.
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