Western Montana Small Boat Association

07/25/2025

Busy weekend! It's Wild Horse Weekend at the South Flathead Yacht Club and that means lots of boats on the water. If you'd like to join in the fun we do have a C Fleet that is boats >20'. On Saturday it's buoy races on a one mile course and the little boats go once around while the big boats go twice. Saturday is the Wild Horse Race and I think the C fleet will do the triangle course that day instead of all the way around the island. We'll start with the fleet at 1030 and make the best of it. Skippers meeting both days is at 0930 at the flagpole in front of the Harbor House. Feel free to send questions are way and we'll see you on the water!

07/13/2025

It's Small Boat Sunday! Kat Boat will be on the water all day in Dayton. Hail on 16. We're getting variable weather so remember you don't know what the weather is until you're observing it yourself. 62 day until the Wild Horse Messabout!

06/27/2025

06/22/2025

Well it happened again! Juneteenth weekend proved that no small boat shall camp comfortably on that weekend. We've been trying for five plus years now and it's never been nice. But fear not! We're going to treat this Sunday, June 29th as our opener with a Small Boat Sunday starting around 1030 in Dayton Bay. It'll just be a day to messabout in boats, hopefully in company. Kat Boat will be in the water and you can hail us on CH16 or simply sail by. We hope to see you!

06/16/2025

Today marks 90 days unti Wild Horse Island Messabout, will you be going? Experience all Flathead has to offer small boats of all stripes.

06/14/2025

Small Boat Sunday's start early this year. More by happenstance then plan. As per our website "Small Boat Sundays is an open invitation for small boats to sail, row, paddle and motor the South Flathead on Sundays from June 29th to September 14th, 2025. Get yourself on the water at Dayton and hail on CH16. " Take a walk through the yard first as these first few Sundays you might find us there.

06/12/2025

I've updated the website to reflect the fact Flathead will not be reaching full pool this year and what effect it may have on our small boats. In a nutshell a floating dock will be be far better experience then a fixed dock if you need to trailer launch. Big Arm State Park is your best bet if you're sailing in the SW part of the lake. Get to the park early and ask for an overnight parking pass at the kiosk if you plan on gunkholing. If you're day sailing state parks and fishing accesses use floating docks. Do your own research before you head out. And until your standing on the dock with your own eyes on the conditions you have no idea what may be in store. Stay safe out there this season and we'll see you on the water!

06/11/2025

I christen these summers Small Boat Summers.

Flathead Lake may fall as much as three feet below full pool by August.

06/10/2025

Flathead is all about differing conditions under THE SAME CONDITIONS. Here is a video we did about that. https://youtu.be/HuBcvLPyRN4?si=kdV1PqF5A7y5SvQy

06/03/2025

Validation stickers no longer needed for watercraft in Montana!

You know those colorful boat stickers you had to have on your boat and replace every three years? They are no longer needed thanks to legislation signed into law by Gov. Greg Gianforte on May 1.

The legislation was sponsored by Rep. Steve Kelly and was proposed by FWP. The main feature of the new law is the removal of the requirement for watercraft validation for motorized vessels. This validation was a free a sticker that boat owners had to get every three years from FWP.

The reason for the validation was a requirement by the U.S. Coast Guard that allowed FWP to secure federal boating safety funds. However, the Coast Guard requirements changed and Montana was no longer compliant.

Rather than ask Montana boat owners to get an annual validation, Gov. Gianforte, FWP and lawmakers decided to remove the requirement all together.

“This new law eliminates a confusing and unnecessary piece of bureaucracy for boat owners,” said FWP Director Christy Clark. “Boat owners just need to license their vessel one time with the county they live in.”

Even if you didn't already have the orange sticker as shown below (good through February of 2026), you STILL don't need it.

06/02/2025

Some changes to boating in Montana have come to pass. This in includes abolishing the boating advisory council, removing the requirement for a validation decal, and interestingly updating rights of way on the water. Worth looking into if you're interested.

11/02/2024

I'm honored to have a Bolger Bobcat sail that Emilano finished for us. Can't wait to raise it!

When it comes to traditional nautical skills—things like sailmaking, rigging, knots, and all things marlinspike, there may be nobody as knowledgeable as longtime SCA columnist (Artful Sailor) Emiliano Marino. Emiliano quite literally wrote the book on the topic when he penned