Soling

International Soling[1]
Solings downwind during the 2019 North American Soling Championship Kingston, Ontario
Development
DesignerLINGE-DESIGN,
Jan Herman LingeA/S
LocationOslo,  Norway
Year1964
No. built3441 registered (about 4500 build)
DesignOne-Design
BrandWorld Sailing
Builder(s)
over the years per country
  • Australia Rudder Yachts ltd.
  • Australia Halvorsen, Morson & Gawland ltd.
  • Australia Pamcraft ltd.
  • Canada Abbott Boats ltd.
  • Denmark Elvstrøm Boats A/S
  • Denmark A/S Borresens Baadebyggeri
  • Spain Playvisa
  • Finland Vamos
  • Finland Veneva O/Y
  • France Dufour
  • France Fontaine-Pajot
  • West Germany Norddeutsche Sportbootwerft
  • West Germany Bootswerft Leonard Mader GbR.
  • United Kingdom Tyler Boat Co.
  • United Kingdom Petticrow Boatyard
  • United Kingdom Petticrows Boatyard
  • Germany Hartra
  • Hungary Crane Works
  • Italy C.I.M.A.
  • Italy Bianchi & Cecchi
  • Japan Ishihara Dockyard Comp.
  • Mexico Ferro
  • Netherlands H.V.M. NV
  • Norway Soling Yachts A/S
  • Norway Jan H. Linge A/S
  • New Zealand RNYS
  • New Zealand Jim MacKay Boats ltd.
  • New Zealand T.P. Cookson
  • Poland Gdansk Ship and Yacht Yard
  • South Africa Proderite ltd.
  • Switzerland Polyform
  • Soviet Union Licencintorg
  • United States Gemico Corporation (O'day)
  • United States Plastrend Corporation
  • United States Gemico-Marlow
  • United States Eichenlaub Boat Comp.
Most registered boats built by Abbott, Borresens and Elvstrøm.
RoleOpen keelboat designed for Olympic/International regatta sailing. Also very suitable for recreational (regatta) sailing.
NameInternational Soling[1]
Boat
Crew2 or 3
DisplacementMin: 1,035 kg (2,282 lb)
Draft1.30 m (4.3 ft)
TrapezeDroop hiking
Hull
General8.185 m (26.85 ft)
TypeMonohull
ConstructionFiberglass
Hull weightMin: 1,035 kg (2,282 lb)
LOAMin: 8.170 m (26.80 ft)
Max: 8.200 m (26.90 ft)
LWL6.10 m (20.0 ft)
Beam1.90 m (6.2 ft)
Engine typeNone
Hull appendages
GeneralKeel, Rudder
Keel/board typeFixed keel
BallastMin: 570 kg (1,260 lb)
Max: 590 kg (1,300 lb)
Rudder(s)Balanced spade
Rig
GeneralBermuda rig with high aspect ratio jib
Rig typeAluminum or Carbon fiber
Mast lengthFrom deck: 9.2 m (30 ft)
Rig otherGenoa's and Gennaker's are no part of the sail inventory
Sails
GeneralSails shall be constructed only of woven of fibers. Fibers other than those of polyester and non-aromatic polyamide are prohibited.
SailplanSloop
Mainsail area15.6 m2 (168 sq ft)
Jib/genoa area8.1 m2 (87 sq ft)
Spinnaker areaMax: 45.0 m2 (484 sq ft)
Min: 35.0 m2 (377 sq ft)
Upwind sail area23.7 m2 (255 sq ft)
Downwind sail areaMax: 60.6 m2 (652 sq ft)
Min: 50.6 m2 (545 sq ft)
Total sail area68.7 m2 (739 sq ft)
Racing
Class associationInternational Soling Association
D-PN82.3[2]
RYA PN914[3]
PHRF150 Lake Ontario[4]
Former Olympic class

The Soling is an open keelboat that holds the World Sailing "International class" status.[5] The class was used from the 1972 Olympics until the 2000 Olympics as "Open three-person keelboat". Besides the Olympic career of the Soling the boat is used for international and local regattas as well as for recreational sailing. The Soling is managed by the International Soling Association under auspician of World Sailing since 1968.

Droop-hiking technique demonstrated by middleman.
Soling in the Boston Harbor Island Race 2012

The Soling is a strong boat designed for any wind and sea condition by Jan Herman Linge from Norway in 1964.[6] The boats are one-design originating from an authorized single plug and mould system and made of fiberglass. This together with a strict set of class rules makes competition possible on a "level playing field".[1] Solings last a long time, and boats produced in the early days are still in competition today (more than 50 years after being built). At the 2019 North American Championship the fifth place was taken by the German team sailing a refurbished Soling which had been built in 1968.[7] A characteristic sailing style for the Soling is the droop-hiking technique.

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Classrules was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference DPN was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference RYA was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference PHRF was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference InternationalClass was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference History1970 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference NAC2019 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).