By Mike Renzella
The Haldimand Press
DUNNVILLE—Dunnville resident David Janzen has accomplished quite a remarkable feat, crafting a 70-foot-long iceboat using largely donated supplies and breaking the Guiness World Record for largest boat in the process.
Janzen recalled his early days, growing up in the 1960s and helping his old neighbour work on his boat: “He taught me how to sail and a couple years later I bought my first boat, a 26-foot Thunderbird keelboat.”
Living on a dairy farm along the Grand River, Janzen remembers being warned repeatedly about the safety risks of going out on the iced-over river in the winter, “but when people said, ‘Don’t do that’, I thought, ‘Maybe I will’.”
In 1969, while still in public school, Janzen built his first iceboat, a stern-steering craft. He recalled, “I was told not to finish it, it was too dangerous – and it was…. You had to sit at the back to hold the skate down. The problem with them is the thrust from the sail is towards the front … (so) the runner could come off the ice and then you go for quite a wild ride.”
Throughout the next several decades, Janzen fed his hobby, building and renovating a number of boats throughout the years.
He recalled drawing a crowd on Sunday mornings in Dunnville: “I used to sail on the upper river, just off Wingfield Park…. There would be about a dozen cars all parked there just watching me sailing around on the ice.”
He described the feeling of being in control of an iceboat travelling at top speeds: “It’s awesome. It’s addictive.… The faster you go, the stronger the wind gets. You can sail three to five times the speed of the wind…. It’s not for everybody, but it’s almost magical.”
A few years ago, Janzen lucked into a great find, receiving five 58-foot rowing shells from the Cayuga Rowing Club when they were set to purchase new shells for the team.
“When I got them and was looking at them, I could see an iceboat,” he said.
In doing online research, Janzen discovered that while there were other iceboats that measured longer than 58 feet, he was getting closer to creating the world’s biggest iceboat, setting out to create a design that implemented the donated shells while expanding on the overall structure.
Like Johnny Cash’s famous ‘One Piece at a Time’, Janzen slowly collected and assembled his dream project, which he proudly called a “no-budget” affair, thanks to his patience and a skillset earned from years of experience building boats and working as a carpenter by trade.
Before Janzen built his boat, the record for world’s biggest iceboat has held since 1869. The boat, named ‘Icicle’, was built by John Aspinwall Roosevelt and was used for races on the Hudson River in New York state.
Icicle’s hull measured at 68 feet, 10 inches long, while Janzen’s supersized creation measures in with a 70-foot hull, a 53-foot mast, and a 37-foot plank.
Janzen talked about the advantages that come from having such a large craft, noting, “The bigger the boat, the faster they go.”
Janzen hopes to take a shot at not only having the largest iceboat, but also the world’s fastest speed record. He hopes to top 115 miles/hr (185km/hr) next winter when he brings the boat to Thunder Bay, where his son lives.
“It all has to come together to be able to sail at those speeds,” said Janzen. “There’s something addictive about sailing at high speeds.”
While Janzen is correct in his assertion that iceboating at ridiculously fast speeds is not for everybody, for those born with an adventurous spirit and a thirst for adventure, it offers a one-of-a-kind experience.
“It’s sort of a unique thing,” concluded Janzen.
