In Soundings: Glued Together – Jan and Meade Gougeon

by | 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 | 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.

National Sailing Hall Of Fame 2
National Sailing Hall Of Fame 6
National Sailing Hall Of Fame 7

Celebrating 50 Years of What Holds Us Together

by | 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:

Two great champions, Jan Gougeon US1183 and Poland’s Karol Jablonski P36

Jan Gougeon’s first DN, HOT CANARY

Meade (second from left) and his wife, Janet, when they met with the United States Commission on Energy to discuss making wind turbines.

Jan and Meade taking a moment on their catamaran powerboat.

WEST SYSTEMS company portrait when Jan and Meade were still involved.

September Runner Tracks Newsletter

by | Sep 11, 2017 | 2017, Home Page

Runner Tracks, the newsletter of the IDNIYRA, has been virtually delivered to your door. Meade Gougeon is on the cover, the first photo of Meade ever taken by Gretchen Dorian while at her first iceboat regatta in ten years ago. European IDNIYRA Secretary Chris Williams has provided a timeline as to what transpired when DNs were being considered for Olympic glory and why that didn’t happen. Other features include class members sharing their remembrances of Meade, minutes of the 2017 EU Secretaries meeting, and the 2018 International Rank list. [If you have any questions about the list, please email to exec.secretary@idniyary.org.] Read all about it here on the Runner Tracks page.

Did you know that Runner Tracks is available in three different electronic formats and you can also order it in a print version?
Flipbook magazine: Best for laptops and desktop computers
PDF: Best for tablets
PDF Single Page: Best for mobile devices

Meade Gougeon US882: 1938-2017

by | Aug 28, 2017 | 2017, Home Page

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

The DN class sends our thoughts and condolences to the family of Meade Gougeon who passed away on Sunday, August 27, 2017. Meade was a well respected class leader and had a tremendous impact on ice boating and all forms of sailing. Jane Pegel US805 remembers Meade:

It has been a privilege to witness the “Gougeon” era.   The brothers Meade, Jan, and Joe were all  top notch DN sailors.   While Joe ventured away from Gougeon Brothers, Meade and Jan became  innovators in the boat building industry.   “Get out the Gouge” became a familiar phrase, especially to those of us building and racing iceboats.  
Meade Gougeon was an outstanding leader, both in business and the DN class.   When a discussion was getting “heated”, Meade would step forward and with a few words lead us in a sensible direction.     A tough, but fair,  competitor, Meade’s contribution to the sport of iceboating reached far beyond the race course and is much appreciated.
…Jane Pegel
DN 805

DN CLASS ACCOMPLISHMENTS
North American Championship First Place
1997
1980
Gold Cup
1991 5th place
Gold Cup Senior Trophy
1989
1991
1993
1995
2001
Past IDNIYRA Commodore
1985
1986