The Byte is a small one-design sailing

dinghy A dinghy is a type of small boat, often carried or towed by a larger vessel for use as a tender. Utility dinghies are usually rowboats or have an outboard motor. Some are rigged for sailing but they differ from sailing dinghies, which ...

sailed by one person. It was designed by Canadian Ian Bruce, who also commissioned and marketed the

Laser A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word "laser" is an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation". The fir ...

History

The Byte began as an inexpensive version of the

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

dinghy that could target sailors weighing between .

Design

The Byte is long, wide and roughly . The hull is composed of glass reinforced

polyester Polyester is a category of polymers that contain the ester functional group in every repeat unit of their main chain. As a specific material, it most commonly refers to a type called polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Polyesters include natural ...

and foam sandwich. The Byte is designed for sailors weighing although most sailors weighing should have no problems sailing this boat on a recreational basis. The Byte sail size is only making it the ideal boat for those sailors who enjoy the independence and simplicity of a cat rigged boat, such as the

, but who are not strong or heavy enough to control a large sail. The rigging is similar to that of the Laser except one noticeable difference. The traveler is just below the main sheet block and not at the

stern The stern is the back or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite the bow, the foremost part of a ship. Ori ...

of the boat (similar to a Finn or Europe dinghy). This eradicates the chance of the main sheet getting caught on the

transom Transom may refer to: * Transom (architecture), a bar of wood or stone across the top of a door or window, or the window above such a bar * Transom (nautical), that part of the stern of a vessel where the two sides of its hull meet * Operation Tran ...

which is a common complaint of the Laser. The sail controls are also "split" and led to both side-decks, again somewhat like a Finn or

and allows for more technical adjustments. The

Portsmouth Yardstick The Portsmouth Yardstick (PY) or Portsmouth handicap scheme is a term used for a number of related systems of empirical handicapping used primarily in small sailboat racing. The handicap is applied to the time taken to sail any course, and the han ...

handicap of a Byte is 1147. The alternative D-PN handicap rating is 97.4.

Byte CII

The Byte was updated in 2004 with the development of a fully battened sail and two piece carbon-fibre mast. This CII rig has a slightly larger sail made of mylar and similar in appearance to the 29er sails. The new rig is designed to be self-depowering and was a welcome update to the previous byte rig. The inspiration for the new rig and sail was to create an out-of-the-box, cost effective, women's and youth boat. These developments give a speed improvement reflected in the Byte CII's Portsmouth Yardstick of 1147 and D-PN of 91.4.

Fleets

Although the Byte class operates on numerous continents, its largest fleets in Canada, Singapore, Bermuda, Great Britain and Switzerland.

Events

Class World Championships

Youth Sailing World Championships

The Byte CII is one of two boats designated in the ISAF Regulations for use as the Girl's One Person Dinghy for the ISAF

Youth Sailing World Championships The ISAF Youth Sailing World Championships was first held in Sweden in 1971 and it has been held every year since. It is one of the key events of the federation to help promote top-level youth participation. Editions Equipment Gender Guide ...

. The other is the Laser Radial. The Byte CII has been used at two Youth World Championships, in Australia and Canada,

Youth Olympic Games

The Byte dinghy was used for both male and female competitors in the

Youth Olympic Games The Youth Olympic Games (YOG) is an international multi-sport event for athletes between 15 and 18 years old, organized by the International Olympic Committee. The games are held every four years in staggered summer and winter events consisten ...

during the first two events held in Singapore and Nanjing.

Builders

The Byte CII is produced by Zou Inter Marine, Qingdao, PRC. Zim Sailing, Rhode Island, USA. Hartley Boats, UK. Nautivela SRL, Milan Italy, Xtreme Sailing Products Singapore, Armada Boats, São Paulo, Brazil and by Performance Sailcraft Pty Ltd, Sydney, Australia The long time Asia-Pacific Laser manufacturer Performance Sailcraft Australasia (PSA), after receiving permission from ISAF, acquired the Copyright and worldwide building and marketing rights to the single handed Byte and Byte CII dinghy in 2012.

References

External links

Byte Class AssociationWorld Sailing Byte MicrositeHartly Boats - Constructors specifications
{{Olympic class sailboats Classes of World Sailing Dinghies Youth Olympic sailing classes Two-person sailboats Sailboat type designs by Canadian designers