Blog

One touch of the helm and you’ll understand the loving loyalty of Yngling owners worldwide. The boat simply sails beautifully.

Those familiar with the Soling will instantly recognize the Yngling as a “mini-Soling,” a description which is quite apt. In the Yngling (pronounced “ING-ling”), designer Jan Linge basically duplicated his Soling, making it smaller, more suitable for average-sized people, easier to trail (behind even a four-cylinder car), and less expensive to own. The Yngling shares the Soling’s sleek hull form, well-balanced rig, and responsive helm. While the Yngling is not as fast as the Soling, it is quicker, and more nimble. It turns more quickly and in less distance, and responds better to crew weight trim adjustments.

The Yngling is designed to sail with three crew (although two can handle it easily). Optimal crew weight is 400 to 500 lbs., so the Yngling accommodates both juniors and normally sized adults, and it is the ideal women’s racing boat (in fact, IYRU selected the Yngling for its first International Women’s Championship in 1994, and ISAF chose it as the boat for the 2004 Olympic women’s keelboat event). Sail controls on the Yngling are easy to manage, and the effects of small adjustments are felt by the crew. The Yngling sails in a delicate and fast upwind groove.

loa 20.8’
beam 5.6’
sail area 150 ft²
spinnaker area __ ft²
hull weight 1422 lbs.
crew 3
# of boats built not known
active US fleets MD, FL, CA, MA, CT, RI, VA, NY

Class website:
http://www.yngling.org/

The International J/22 is a popular fixed keel one design racing sailboat normally raced with a crew of three or four people (total crew weight is restricted to 275 kg/605 lb).

Because of its strict one design rule, older boats are equally competitive with new boats. It races with the “class jib,” a non-overlapping jib, a mainsail, and a large spinnaker. The boat is capable of planing on reaches and runs.

According to its builder, “Since its introduction in 1983, the J/22 has blossomed into an International class now with 1,600+ boats sailing in 65 fleets in 18 countries. Over 130 boats sailed in the 2004 World Championship. On the merits of its sailing characteristics, widespread popularity and small crew number (3-4), J/22 continues to be the boat of choice and is selected again for the 2005 Rolex International Women’s Keelboat Championship in Annapolis, MD.”

loa 22’    
beam 8’
sail area ft²
spinnaker area 480 ft²
hull weight 1790 lbs.
crew 3-4
# of boats built 1600
active US fleets NJ, PA, MD, FL, CA, MA, CT, RI, VA, NY, TX, LA

Class website:
http://www.j22.org/

The International J/24 is the world’s most popular one-design keelboat. It was designed by Rod Johnstone in 1976 and since then over 5200 hulls have been produced. It was the first J-boat and was based on Rod Johnstone’s 1976 garage-built prototype ‘Ragtime.’

The first production J/24 was built in 1977, and the J/24s overwhelmed MORC Int’ls in Annapolis that year.

The class is established in nearly 40 countries with well over 100 active fleets. J/24s are usually raced with a crew of five, but class rules require only that there be at least three crew, with a total combined weight under 400kg.

# of boats built 6000
active US fleets NJ, MD, FL, CA, MA, CT, RI, VA, NY, TX, LA
Class website:
http://www.j24class.org/

The Melges 24 hitting the scene in 1993, is a one-design class of sailboat commonly used for racing. With a very large asymmetrical spinnaker and retractable bowsprit, he boat is notable for its ability to plane over the water downwind in modest winds, and for its combination of a simple design that is highly tune-able. This is a fairly technical boat and has a very competitive class.

The boat’s hull is made from lightweight fiberglass. The mast, rudder, bowsprit, and keel fin are made from carbon fiber for light weight. The hull is generally flat on the bottom, making it plane easily. The 630 pound (286 kg) keel bulb can retract up to the hull bottom to make it easier to put on a trailer.

The boat is generally raced with a crew of four or five. Because the boat sails faster with a heavier crew, class rules for racing limit crew weight to 793 pounds (360 kg) total. Unlike most spinnaker-rigged keelboats, the Melges 24 is designed so that no foredeck work is required to fly the spinnaker; it is launched, trimmed, and doused from the cockpit.

loa 24’    
beam 8’2”
sail area 390 ft²
spinnaker area 670 ft² (!)
hull weight 1783 lbs.
crew 4-5
# of boats built 700 +
active US fleets MD, FL, CA, MA, CT, RI, VA, NY, TX, LA

Class website:
http://www.melges24.com/