I have been a Nite iceboat sailor for 15 years. I am going to give my advice for getting the best performance out of your Nite iceboat as the wind increases. Just to start I would like to say I weigh about 185 pounds and I will sail in winds of 10-18 with 25 lbs of lead and in winds of over 18 I will sail with 50 pounds of lead. I will setup so when sheeted tight I am not sheeting block to block because I will want about two to four inches between the pulleys in light to medium air and rake the mast back as the wind increases.

The first thing I do as the wind picks up and I cannot keep the boat on the ice anymore is start with raking the mast back one hole at a time. Hiking in an iceboat is slow and you want to keep all three runners on the ice at all times. After the change is made I will take a short ride and see if this has helped. If not I will add all 50 pounds of lead in I will continue to rake back one hole at a time on the head stay and one hole on the side stays until the boat becomes controllable.

Having an adjustable track on the boom also has a lot to do with de-powering as the wind picks up. My typical setup is to start with the ropes going up and down at 90 degrees. This puts rotation into the mast usually giving you a good amount of power for light to medium air. As the wind increases I will move these pulleys forward on the track taking away mast rotation hence flattening and decreasing power in the sail.

If you are raked back and sheeting block to block and your side stays are very loose and hiking with 50 lbs of lead in you may want to have your runner plank softened to bend a little more to absorb some of the load. When puffs hit you want the boat to squat down and accelerate not hike immediately.

If you have any questions I am usually on the ice so feel free to ask me. Otherwise think ice!