 Class symbol | |
 + | |
| Development | |
|---|---|
| Name | Byte |
| Crew | 1 |
| Boat | |
| Crew | 1 |
| Hull | |
| Type | Monohull |
| Construction | GRP |
| Hull weight | 100 lb (45 kg) |
| LOA | 12 ft (3.7 m) [1] |
| Beam | 4 ft 3 in (1.30 m) |
| Sails | |
| Mainsail area | 73 sq ft (6.8 m2) |
| Racing | |
| D-PN | 97.4 (91.4 C-II) |
The Byte is a small one-design sailing dinghy sailed by one person. It was designed by Canadian Ian Bruce, who also commissioned and marketed the Laser.
The Byte began as an inexpensive version of the Europe dinghy that could target sailors weighing between 45 and 65 kg (99 and 143 lb). [2]
The Byte is 12 ft (3.7 m) long, 4 ft 3 in (1.30 m) wide and roughly 100 pounds (45 kg). The hull is composed of glass reinforced polyester and foam sandwich. The Byte is designed for sailors weighing 120 to 145 lb (54 to 66 kg) although most sailors weighing 90 to 160 lb (41 to 73 kg) should have no problems sailing this boat on a recreational basis. The Byte sail size is only 58 square feet (5.4 square metres) making it the ideal boat for those sailors who enjoy the independence and simplicity of a cat rigged boat, such as the Laser, 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 of the boat (similar to a Finn or Europe dinghy). This eradicates the chance of the main sheet getting caught on the transom 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 Europe and allows for more technical adjustments.
The Portsmouth Yardstick handicap of a Byte is 1147. [3] The alternative D-PN handicap rating is 97.4. [4]
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 [3] and D-PN of 91.4. [4]
Although the Byte class operates on numerous continents, its largest fleets in Canada, Singapore, Bermuda, Great Britain and Switzerland.
| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 Open |  Eric Holden (CAN) |  Alexander Kirkland (BER) |  Leete Parker Garrett (USA) |
| 2001 Open |  Silja Lehtinen (FIN) | (CAN) | (CAN) |
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 other is the Laser Radial. The Byte CII has been used at two Youth World Championships, in Australia and Canada,
The Byte dinghy was used for both male and female competitors in the Youth Olympic Games during the first two events held in Singapore and Nanjing.
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.
Dinghy racing is a competitive sport using dinghies, which are small boats which may be rowboats, have an outboard motor, or be sailing dinghies. Dinghy racing has affected aspects of the modern sailing dinghy, including hull design, sail materials and sailplan, and techniques such as planing and trapezing.
The Laser is a class of single-handed, one-design sailing dinghies using a common hull design with three interchangeable rigs of different sail areas, appropriate to a given combination of wind strength and crew weight. Bruce Kirby designed the Laser in 1970 with an emphasis on simplicity and performance.
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 470 (Four-Seventy) is a double-handed monohull planing dinghy with a centreboard, Bermuda rig, and centre sheeting. Equipped with a spinnaker, trapeze and a large sail-area-to-weight ratio, it is designed to plane easily, and good teamwork is necessary to sail it well. The name comes from the boat's length of 470 centimetres.
The 49er and 49er FX is a two-handed skiff-type high-performance sailing dinghy. The two crew work on different roles with the helm making many tactical decisions, as well as steering, and the crew doing most of the sail control. Both of the crew are equipped with their own trapeze and sailing is done while cantilevered over the water to the fullest extent to balance against the sails.
The Laser 4.7 or ILCA 4 is a one-design dinghy class in the Laser series and is a one-design class of sailboat. All Lasers are built to the same specifications. The Laser is 4.06 m long, with a waterline length of 3.81 m. The hull weight is 59 kg (130 lb). The boat is manufactured by ILCA and World Sailing approved builders.
The OK Dinghy is an international class sailing dinghy, designed by Knud Olsen in 1956.
The Cadet is a class of sailing dinghy designed to be sailed by two children up to the age of 17. It is a one-design class, originally designed by Jack Holt in 1947. Cadets are sailed worldwide in more than 40 countries.
The Laser 2, or Laser II, is a sailboat that was designed by New Zealander Frank Bethwaite and Canadian Ian Bruce as a one-design racer and first built in 1978.
The Laser Pico dinghy is a small sailboat designed by Jo Richards in the mid-1990s and used primarily for training and day sailing. It can be crewed by one or two children or an adult. Current models come equipped with both a mainsail and a jib, the jib however mainly functions as a training tool and provides little to no contribution to speed. The Pico functions mainly as a training boat for younger children because of its very durable nature and has little to no racing events dedicated to it.
The Tasar is a 14.83-foot (4.52 m) fiberglass 2 person sailing dinghy with a mainsail and jib. Designed by Frank Bethwaite of Sydney in 1975, the boat was technologically advanced for its time and continues to evolve. Aimed at a husband-and-wife or parent-and-child crew hence no spinnaker, it is designed for a combined crew weight of around 140 kg. The hull weighs 68 kg, and is of sandwich foam construction. The hull has a fine angle at the bow to reduce wave impact drag with unusually clean and sharp chines aft to ensure very free planing and outstanding stability. The foam cored hull is stiff and light and the advanced hull shape, together with an innovative rig which combines a rotating mast with a fully battened main sail, allows the Tasar to plane upwind with the crew normally hiked. The wide beam and a cockpit designed for comfortable hiking make the Tasar easy, fun and very exciting to sail in winds up to 25 knots (46 km/h).
The RS300 is a modern racing sailing dinghy made by RS Sailing. The RS300 is a one-design, single-handed, hiking dinghy with a PY of 972. Designed by Clive Everest and first produced in 1998, it is inspired by the International Moth, of which Everest was a successful designer.
The Banshee, sometimes called the Banshee 13, is an American sailing dinghy that was designed by Richard L. Reid as a one-design racer and first built in 1969.
The Laser Vago is a British/American sailing dinghy that was designed by Jo Richards as a one-design racer and first built in 2005.
The Splash Dinghy is 3.5 m in length and all boats are identical, thus, as is typical in One-Design classes, the sailor's ability rather than equipment is emphasised fleet racing. The boats employ an un-stayed mono rig with a sail area of 6.3 m2, which makes the class easy to handle by sailors ranging from 45 to 80 kg. This, combined with the low hull weight of 55 kg, allow the class to serve as a stepping stone between the Optimist Dinghy and boats such as the Laser Radial, suiting sailors in the age range from 13 to 21 years.
The B14 is a two man monohull dinghy, designed by Julian Bethwaite. It is recognised as an international class by the International Sailing Federation. The boat was designed in 1984.
Keerati Bualong is a Thai sailor. In 2012, he became the first Thai to qualify for the Olympics in the men's one person dinghy, the same class of boat His Majesty The King of Thailand once sailed. He competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the Men's Laser class.
The Widgeon 12 is an American sailing dinghy that was designed by Robert H. Baker and first built in 1964. The design has been raced but is more often employed in the sail training role.
The Phantom 14 is an American sailing dinghy that was designed by Jack Howie as a racer and first built in 1977. It is a board sailboat, similar to the Sunfish.
The US1, sometimes written US 1, is an American sailing dinghy that was designed by Ralph Kuppersmith and Clark Mills as a one-design racer and first built in 1973.