What is "soling"

Sole \Sole\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Soled; p. pr. & vb. n. Soling.] To furnish with a sole; as, to sole a shoe.

vb. (present participle of sole English)

The Soling is an International open keelboat class designed by Jan Linge from Norway in 1965. In 1968, it was selected to be an Olympic class for the Games of the XX Olympiad in Kiel 1972 (GER). The Soling maintained this status until her final appearance at the 2000 Olympics.

The Soling is a strong boat designed for any wind and sea condition and is - above all - fun to sail. Fitness, sailing and team skills are basic requirements for successful racing. The boats are one-design originating from an authorized single plug and mould and made of glass reinforced polyester, making competition as equal as possible.

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.

Characteristic for the Soling is the droop-hiking technique.

Since 2008 the Soling is one of the Vintage Yachting Classes at the Vintage Yachting Games.