Ice yachting is the sport of sailing and racing
iceboats, also called
ice yachts. It is practiced in Austria, Germany, Great Britain, Poland, Norway and Sweden, to some extent, and is very popular in the Netherlands and on the
Gulf of Finland, but its highest development is in the United States and Canada. The Dutch ice yacht is a flat-bottomed boat resting crosswise upon a
planking about three feet wide and sixteen long, to which are affixed four steel runners, one each at
bow,
stern and each end of the planking. The
rudder is a fifth runner fixed to a tiller. Heavy
mainsails and
jibs are generally used and the boat is built more for safety than for speed. The iceboat of the Gulf of Finland is a V-shaped frame with a heavy plank running from bow to stern, in which the
mast is stepped. The stern or steering runner is worked by a tiller or wheel. The
sail is a large lug and the
boom and
gaff are attached to the mast by travelers. The passengers sit upon planks or
rope netting. According to some, the Russian boats were faster than the Dutch-built ice yachts.