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[extracted from a 1987 IYA newsletter article by Yngling designer Jan Linge]

The initial idea was to design and build a small keelboat for my son, Øyvin, who at that time was 14 days old. Hence the name "Yngling," which means youngster! This was in 1967, ... shortly after the Soling had been through the IYRU trials in Keil and Travemunde. Therefore the same philosophy of design, although the Yngling is not a "scaled-down" version of the Soling as many people seem to believe.

The Yngling has quite different proportions with relatively more beam, higher freeboard with more sheer, fuller body-lines, etc., but she is a nice "little sister" of the Olympic class Soling.

By retaining most of the characteristics the intention was to create a smaller, lighter, and more easily handled boat, which could be a one-design keelboat for juniors as well as a suitable recruiting boat for the Soling. ...

The class rules were right from the beginning made very restrictive as regards equipment and sails. Furthermore, to enforce the one-design principle, all production moulds etc. were to be delivered from one single source of supply.

Plugs and moulds were built at Bringsværd's yard during the winter 67/68, and the first 7 boats sailed in the 1968 season. Five of these took part in our main national regatta, and they made such a good impression that orders started coming in at Bringsværd's yard.

I lent our own Y-N to Paul Elvstrøm, who evaluated the boat during the autumn and winter, and he introduced the boat to Danish sailors.

Before the 1969 season 55 more Ynglings were built, and the class was established in Norway. ...

In 1971 I was honored by receiving the Design Prize for the Yngling from the Norwegian Design Council. The International Yngling Association was founded in 1971 and the first World Cup Race was arranged in Holland the same year. ...

IYRU [now ISAF] granted the Yngling [International] status in ... May 1979. ... IYRU status has given the Yngling class many positive things. The class rules are under constant surveyance and have improved to near perfection. The status of official World Championship makes those events more important, and we have seen and increase in entries and a higher standard of racing than ever before. I believe the Yngling class is attractive to good sailors, not only because it is a good boat, but also because they meet good competition and also the friendly atmosphere they find under the wings of IYA.

~ Jan Herman Linge
Official Class Sponsor