Jan Gougeon Archives - DN North America

In Soundings: Glued Together – Jan and Meade Gougeon

by Deb Whitehorse | Mar 19, 2024 | Home Page

Meade Gougeon in 1982 at Wittensee, Germany. Photo: Henry Bossett

Gougeon Archives
The Gougeon brothers’ pioneering work with epoxy construction revolutionized not only DN iceboat building but left a mark on sailing as a whole. Their significant contribution to DN sailing continues to inspire and drive excellence in the iceboating community.

Glued Together
The Gougeon brothers didn’t invent epoxy, but they were innovative boatbuilders who created the West System of epoxy products and revolutionized coldmolded boatbuilding.
PIM VAN HEMMEN
In Meade’s eyes, the DNs were a great test bed for epoxy construction. They would also become the Gougeons’ first commercial enterprise. They would eventually build 200 DNs and they knew how to race them. From 1971 until 2000 Jan dominated DN iceboating, winning four world championships and 11 national championships. Meade would also win national championships in 1981 and 1997. Continue reading.

DN in Sailing Museum

by Deb Whitehorse | Nov 22, 2021 | 2022, Home Page

Visit the Sailing Museum

The DN remains the world’s most popular iceboat for many reasons. It’s usually someone’s first ride, home buildable, easy to transport and set up, and pure fun to sail. The DN is also the perfect size for a permanent exhibit in the National Sailing Hall of Fame’s new museum in Newport, Rhode Island.

The DN’s natural wood hull, plank, and runners will stand out among the other five soft-water boats that will permanently hang from the former armory’s impressive wood ceiling in the interactive exhibition hall.

Home built by Doug Kolner (Four Lakes Ice Yacht Club) in Monona, Wisconsin, the boat reflects the DN’s humble beginnings at the Detroit News hobby shop in the 1930s and its evolvement into a modern racing machine. Doug built the boat using standard plans and it is most representative of the type of DN you’ll see at North American regattas. Typical of modern DN racers, the hull was built using Gougeon brothers epoxy, Harken brothers blocks, and Sarns hardware.

The DN class is honored to symbolize the spirit of American ice yachting in the new Sailing Museum.

Celebrating 50 Years of What Holds Us Together

by Deb Whitehorse | Aug 6, 2019 | 2019, Home Page

DN sailors Jan and Meade Gougeon, inventors of WEST SYSTEMS Epoxy, enjoying a day of iceboating.

Congratulations to the Gougeon family and WEST SYSTEM employees literally being the glue (well, 2 part epoxy) that has been used in all iceboat builds for the past 50 years. The DN class and Gougeon (how most iceboaters refer to WEST SYSTEM) have grown up together. From the WEST SYSTEM website:

Brothers Meade and Jan Gougeon begin building DN class iceboats with wood and epoxy, selling 200 iceboats between 1969 and 1974. “Where we got really lucky in our quest for epoxy technology was to be located 17 miles east of Dow Chemical Co. We introduced Herbert Dow (an avid sailor and the grandson of Dow Chemical’s founder) to iceboating. Herb made it possible for us to work with chemists in Dow’s epoxy lab, helping us to develop resins and hardeners we could use as both an adhesive and a coating,” company founder Meade Gougeon says. With Dow’s help, the Gougeon brothers develop the formulations WEST SYSTEM epoxy products are based on.

Jane and Mead have passed but their legacy lives on in every iceboat being made or repaired. Mead and Jan’s good friend, Ron Sherry, attended the 50th Anniversary party at WEST headquarters in Bay City, Michigan on August 3rd. Ron writes, “Great 50th anniversary party last weekend at the Gougeon brothers plant. Wonderful party filled with food, drinks, boats, and lots and lots of great friends all together to celebrate 50 years of making it easy for anyone to build their ultimate toys.” Ron shared the photos below: