Soling

A Soling is a class of open keelboat designed by Jan Linge of Norway in 1965. In 1968, it was chosen from among many other boats to be the men's triple-handed boat for the 1972 Olympics. The Soling remained an Olympic boat until its final Olympic appearance at the 2000 Olympics. Since 2008 the Soling has been one of the Vintage Yachting Classes at the Vintage Yachting Games.

The Soling is a strong boat designed for any wind and sea conditions and is fun to sail. Fitness, sailing and team skills are basic requirements for good racing. The boats are made of fibreglass reinforced polyester and are One-design boats coming from an authorized single plug and mould, making competition as even as possible. Masts are made of aluminium alloy and the best known brand is Abbott, although Proctor, Børresen Bådebyggeri and other brands might be available in the market.

The lifetime of a Soling is long. Those produced in the early days still sail beautifully and some are still in competition (more than 30 years after being built). The average competition life of a Soling boat is considered 15 years making the Soling a perfect cost / benefit boat for racing purposes.

Sails are made of Dacron and the most used brands are: Doyle, North Sails, Elvstrøm Sails, UK-Halsey.

Characteristic for the Soling is the droop-hiking technique.