Solings are about 27 feet (that would be 8 meters, right?) LOA with a
waterline of about 20 feet. They seemed scarey fast (read this as Lots of
heel), lots of gadgets for sail trim, turn on a dime, and uncomfortable to
boot. Weighs about 2 to 3 times what a Potter does and carries about 4 or 5
times as much canvas. Lots of comforting lead underneath for us beginners.
No outboards -- they were pure racing boats, and I thiink at the time it was
an Olympic class - which was not as comforting to us beginners, especially
when it came time to dock. Solings used to cost about $16K back then; they're
about twice that now.
The incident got me reminicing about the Soling and I had a funny thought: In
class, they taught us the "hull speed" equation. You know the one --
Displacment Hull speed = 1.3 something times square root of waterline length.
The Soling had a top speed of about 6 knots. Last month, we were sailing in
Jerry B's boat "Sunshine" at a consistent 6.5 knots.
Danged 'lil P-19 is faster than a Soling!!!! (of course, it's a semi-planing
hull, not a displacement hull. ) Next time you're out in your Potter,
challenge an Olympic Soling to a Race! You've got a fair shot a winning a
free beer!!!
Judy Blumhorst, DC
WWP-19 #266 "Red Wing"
SF Bay Area, CA