Posts Tagged ‘winter ice boating’

Winter boating is difficult, but if you know how to stay safe and warm, you can have a ton of fun racing your boat, or going plain ice sailing. There are a few rules to ice boating, and Skeeter racing helps teach us those rules.

Skeeter Boat Construction

Skeeter boats are approximately 32 feet long and 22 feet wide, while their masts are typically 27 feet tall. Most skeeters are limited as to the sail area allowed, which is 75 square feet, and a roach maximum of 12 inches. Skeeters are allowed a choice of an open or closed cockpit, and it is really up to the sailor and which style he or she prefers because the design is an open one with which anyone can build. Some skeeter boat owners even install cockpit windows, which can work a bit of magic for racers in the 0 degree temperatures that are typical of ice sailing.

Skeeter Boat Racing Rule Differences

According to the Ice Boat website, there are some differences between skeeter boat racing and general sailboat racing – also called soft water sailing, and the rules pertaining to it. The rules were put into place for safety reasons, though, and you can read the full set of rules here.

The rule differences include the fact that downwind boats must heed right of way over upwind boats, no matter if they are port or starboard, and when positioned downwind, the leeward boat must make way for the windward boat, as the windward boat has rights over it.

Skeeter Classes

Skeeter Classes exist to keep racing fair between all participants. If one person in a race has two cockpits while the rest of the racers only have one cockpit, then because the person with two cockpits has a slight advantage over the others and could win the race based on that advantage, that person shouldn’t participate in the same race because it is not fair to the other racers.

The different classes in which skeeters fall include Class A, Class B, and Class C.

• Class A has a limitation on the mast height, and includes single or two place tandems, and all may have more than one cockpit. Most class A skeeter owners built their boats at home.
• Class B is a two place side by side
• Class C is a single place, two place tandem or two place side by side. This class also enforces a 20-inch off the deck height limitation for the mast.

Most races place limits on wind speed and temperature to keep the racers safe. Usually wind speed must be below 25 miles per hour and temperature must be above 0 or 10 degrees according a boater.

Do you plan on skeeter racing or ice boating this winter?