WHY THE SOLING 1 METER?
Many Reasons!!!
First, she is a great performer, handles a wide range of
winds, and drives well on all points of sail, and in a wide
range of winds.
The Soling 1 Meter has a full hull forward, and resists
“submarining” downwind, and can actually semi-plane in the
right conditions.
"Big-Boat" handling! Smaller, narrower, and lighter model
boats often have difficulty maintaining steerage in heavier winds.
This is not the case with the Soling 1 Meter. The S1M smoothly
passes through rough water, remains well-balanced in heavy air,
tacks easily, and (when properly tuned) can track upwind closehauled with ‘no hands on the sticks’.
The Soling 1 Meter is highly tunable- adjusting the sails just right
makes her go fast. Anything else, and she just isn't right. So, you
will develop your skills in tuning and boat handling.
She is durable - with reasonable care it takes very little work
between sail dates to keep the Soling in top form.
The Soling also has a lead-filled fin
keel. Most R/C model yachts of have
a bulb keel, a bullet-shaped
lead bulb hanging on the end
of a long fin>>>>>
There are two main advantages of a fin keel over a bulb keel:
Less Salad! a bulb keel catches weeds much more readily than a fin keel.
This can be annoying, but if it gets bad enough, can actually prevent you
from sailing the boat, requiring you to go retrieve it.
Secondly- Dry Pants! Most boats draw far more water than the Soling’s 8-1/2 inch
draft. Examples are the CR-914 @ 9-1/4”, but, Seawind, International One Meter
(IOM), ODOM, and US One Meter all draw more than 14” of water. The difference?
8-1/2” is just over your shoes, while 14-1/2” is just under your knee!! How much farther into the pond are you willing to wade in order to find that extra 6 inches of depth?
The Soling 1 Meter is inexpensive compared to other model yachts– most one-meter RC model yachts are
in the $800—$1200 range. Normally, you would buy a hull from one manufacturer, the sails from another,
and piece a rig together from a third. But the S1M kit comes complete with all of the components necessary
to build a ‘race-ready boat’, even sails, so building your own Soling 1 Meter Kit costs about $450. For about
another $ 275, Victor Model Products will even build you a ready-to-sail Soling in a color combination of
your choice. Used Soling 1 Meters generally run about $ 250– 350 depending on condition.
One sailplan: the Soling is restricted to one flat-panel sail plan. The sails can be tuned to add or reduce
drive and keep the boat under control in wind speeds up to 20 mph. Many other boats have two, three or
even four complete rigs– A, B, C, D- to allow sailing as the wind increases.
Equal: All Soling 1 Meters are built from kit parts manufactured
by one company- Victor Model Products. All are identical in
speed potential. True One Design!
Fun to build- all the parts in the Kit fit well with very little shaping, sanding, etc. needed to build a solid boat. If you take the time
to build the kit carefully, with special attention to keel and rudder
alignment, and a little extra strengthening, you will get a Soling
that will sail as well as anybody else's Soling.
Instant friends! For new model sailors, the RC sailing hobby
appears complex, difficult to understand, and the ’learning curve’
to get started seems steep. The abundance of Soling 1 Meter sailors in various locations around the country makes it likely that
there are experienced Soling sailors not far from where you live
who would be delighted to assist you with your build and learning
to sail.
Friendly competition: Since the Soling 1 Meter is the AMYA's
#1 model yacht with over 10,000 kits sold, and fleets racing all
over the USA, Canada, United Kingdom, Europe, New Zealand,
and Australia, the Soling 1 Meter offers competition at every level,
with local club racing, regional and national events that will challenge any skipper, new or veteran. Soling 1 Meter: the best choice in R/C sailing!
Sources: Toy N Hobby HQ, Geneva, OH (440) 466-0696 www.toynhobbyhq.com/
Ships Nationwide
Leading Edge Hobbies, Kingston, ON, Can. (613) 389-4878 www.leadingedgehobbies.com/
Victor Model Products, DeRidder, LA (337)202-1916 www.victor-model.com/
Western Reserve Model Yacht Club
Northeastern Ohio, USA
http://www.orgsites.com/oh/westernreserve-model-yacht-club/