Ice Boat planning.....

[narfi]

To be honest, if you fall through the ice out where Narfi lives, all that a PFD is going to accomplish is making body recovery possible. As for armor, keep in mind he is going to have many layers of winter gear on, out on the ice in the wind. Doesn't really sound like my idea of a good time although I hope he gets some video.

That is the sad truth here, one we are unfortunately reminded of every 5-10 years, and why I am so paranoid and conservative with when we go out and how we approach it.

[OrangeQuest]

To be honest, if you fall through the ice out where Narfi lives, all that a PFD is going to accomplish is making body recovery possible. As for armor, keep in mind he is going to have many layers of winter gear on, out on the ice in the wind. Doesn't really sound like my idea of a good time although I hope he gets some video.

Recovering a body helps love ones have closure even if they have to wait for the ice to melt.

The water we normally play kayak polo is only 2 feet deep, and warm. The kayaks can get moving fast enough and have enough rocker that they can jump into the cockpit of another kayak hitting the kayaker in the chest, so the PFD spreads the impact over a larger area and reducing injuries. Luckly, head shots are not as common.

I would go for it in a heart beat! The videos I have seen make it look just plain awesome!

When a lake freezes in your area you would be sailing on very thin ice.

[Jaysen]

Quick thought from my “fast motor” days…

Unlike with water you actually need to think about maintaining contact with the ice. Eh oh is not actually flat and smooth. Make sure you plan some “spring and shock” into your skate mounts.

I’m sure you’ve already gotten better info elsewhere. Just popped into my head.

[narfi]

Make sure you plan some “spring and shock” into your skate mounts.

Yup got it planned in, esp for the front. You can see the spring board I laminated in one of these pictures.

Guests left today after extending stay a few days, so I got to spend a little more time on the boat this afternoon.

Screwed the hull together and sheeted the bottom and the bow. Screwed in a seat support and seat back. Still need to figure out angles and sizing for the knee raisers/support.

Thinking about what I'll do if we get a bunch of snow on the ice and thinking about skies built into the skates. I have most of a sheet of 1/8" marine ply and thinking of laminating 2 layers 6in wide and 4ft long with a layer of 12oz fiberglass on the bottom and front bent up. Then have the skate blades through a slit in the center so when it's ice it's just the skates and when more than a few inches of snow the skies offer flotation while the skates still cut for hopefully some lateral resistance.

Not going to be light.... Hopefully not too heavy

[Jeff]

Nice Narfi, good progress!!! Jeff

[MikeyGnz]

From the title I was envisaging a hull made of ice. Your idea seems far more fun

[narfi]

Been busy with Christmas, but got out yesterday and made a little progress.

Each main runner blade is 24" long, with the front one being 22" (3 pieces cut off of a 6ft stick with a 2" angle) They may be a little on the short side, hopefully that doesn't come back to bite me in the butt.
Will sharpen them on the belt sander, resting the non-sharpened flange of the angle as the guide rested on the side of the sander beside the belt.
I didn't think about it beforehand, but cutting them at an angle like that to maximize length while still cutting an angle made them point the same direction instead of having a left and right, for a cheap quick build like this I am hoping it won't matter too much.

[Jaysen]

Check your grind profile. Runners are concave on most blades for a reason. Not sure if boats are different but I have confidence you’ll find a unique way to do it right.

[narfi]

Check your grind profile. Runners are concave on most blades for a reason. Not sure if boats are different but I have confidence you’ll find a unique way to do it right.

They do it a few different ways, but not typically like ice skates you wear.
The two most common I have found are to grind one side 45degrees, or to grind both sides 45degrees to make a centered 90. Using the side of the belt sander as my jig requires no fabrication and 'feels' simpler to me. We will see

[Jaysen]

Check your grind profile. Runners are concave on most blades for a reason. Not sure if boats are different but I have confidence you’ll find a unique way to do it right.

blade.jpg

They do it a few different ways, but not typically like ice skates you wear.
The two most common I have found are to grind one side 45degrees, or to grind both sides 45degrees to make a centered 90. Using the side of the belt sander as my jig requires no fabrication and 'feels' simpler to me. We will see

Interesting. I wonder of there would be a difference between fore/aft and port/star on the grinds. EX: double grind or flat forward with +45 port and -45 star. I expect that the tendency to lift the windward skate would change the profile making it important to have the right grind for best control.

As I think about it, maybe flat grind is the best start.

Like I said, I'm sure you've a well thought out but unique approach to this.