Ice Yacht
Rocket Restoration
Project
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On the New Jersey waterfront,
at the North Shrewsbury Ice Boat & Yacht Club in Red Bank, the 50 foot
long historic ice yacht
Rocket is
being reconstructed. With little more than the original cockpit and runner
plank having survived the previous century, most of the boat is being
reproduced from a few old pictures using traditional wooden boatbuilding
and rigging techniques appropriate to the period of its original
construction.
The two 40 foot wooden backbone halves have been fabricated and the original cockpit is intact and ready to go. Work still to do includes fabricating the spars and rigging, finishing the runner plank, and working out the hundreds of details of fitting it all together so it will survive the enormous power that a new suit of sails will bring to such a large craft. |
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Your support is welcomed in
this endeavor. A contribution in the amount of $100 will go a long way
towards helping us complete this project. Send your tax deductible
contribution to: |
click to enlarge Thanks to JeffSmithImages.com
for digital image of the old photo.
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Fall 2007 -- Sanding the New Spars
September 19, 2009 The frame of the boat was assembled over the last two weeks and the new Henry Bossett / North Sails were bent on today.
March 20, 2010
A day of sailing was followed by a wonderful party hosted by Ricky Aldrich at his family's Rokeby Estate and another day on the ice on Sunday. Below is a sampling of links to the many, many, people and organizations that provided great coverage of this historic event.
Glen Burger's Video of the Brass Quintet playing to the Ice Yachts Glen Burger's 38 mile sailing day on the ice Dan Clapp's video of the Rocket launch Peter Slack's Video shot with a drone helicopter
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We would love to have a
friendly big boat regatta with the Hudson River Ice Yacht Club's
Jack Frost, J.
A. Roosevelt's Icicle,
and the NSIBYC's
Rocket at some date in the not too distant future.
For more information, see
http://www.nsibyc.com/rocket.asp or contact John Holian at 732-842-9078    
November 18, 2006
Both halves of the backbone have been fabricated and joined
together . The cockpit was also made ready for final attachment, and
then moved upstairs to its traditional home in the NSIBYC clubhouse
kitchen for the winter. Next on the list is the fabrication of the
hollow spars, making the blocks, and hand splicing the wire rigging
for the big yacht.
The original trussed runner plank was set up on horses in the yard this morning so we could fit the backbone. Note that the lower half of the backbone slips through the center of the truss -- this required quite a bit of adjusting to get the proper fit.           
December 2011
Runner Plank Repairs
Dry rot was discovered in one end of the plank which has necessitated a new repair before the boat can be sailed. New pine was scarfed in by crew and shaped to the old profile. The runner chocks were carefully refit and aligned, and the upper arch of the trussed runner plank was plugged and drilled. Mark Petersen will work his magic with the sanding and finishing over the holidays -- it should be ready for the ice in 2012.   
March 1, 2014
Launching Day
After years of work and a few seasons with no
suitable ice, the ROCKET finally took to the ice and
sailed. With the "polar vortex" generating a cold winter across the
mid-west and the north-east, one third of the country was
experiencing the coldest temperatures seen in the past ten years. A
sheet of ice 20 miles or better in length developed on the Hudson
River that was 15 inches thick and reasonably clear of snow cover.
The Hudson River Ice Yacht Club extended an invitation to the North
Shrewsbury Ice Boat and Yacht Club to bring the ROCKET
and their fleet up and join them on this lovely ice. In short order,
a fleet of 30 historic stern steerers was gracing the ice at Astor
Point just north of the Rhinecliff Bridge. With much fanfare and
media coverage, the restored ROCKET make its
successful return to the ice on a lovely Saturday morning to the
delight of the assembled crowd of nearly 500 spectators.
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Disclaimer HRIYC.ORG is neither the official website, nor am I the webmaster, of the Hudson River Ice Yacht Club or the Rocket Ice Yacht Foundation. I am member of both organizations --,during the sailing season, I post photos and information on this, my own personal website, about current ice boating activity in the Hudson Valley and beyond. I am the sole person responsible for the presentation of content and the opinions expressed herein. Interesting photographic contributions are welcome and appreciated -- I spend much of my time on the sailing and far too often fail to capture the best images the day has to offer. JAS |
ŠJohn A. Sperr MMXII