Quick Answer: The Soling is an open keelboat that holds the World Sailing "International class" status. 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 the auspices of World Sailing since 1968. The Soling is a strong boat designed for any wind and sea condition by Jan Herman Linge from Norway in 1964. 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". Solings last a long time, and boats produced in the early days are still in competition today. 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.