The Byte is a single-handed sailing dinghy designed by Canadian Ian Bruce, who also commissioned and marketed the Laser.[2] The Byte has three sail choices, the Byte Classic, the Byte CI, and the Byte CII with the CII being the most commonly sailed. The CII has been sailed at the Youth Olympic Games in 2010 and 2014 and the classic at the Youth Sailing World Championships in 2000 and 2002.
The Byte is 12ft (3.7m) long, 4ft 3in (1.30m) wide and roughly 100 pounds (45kg). The hull is composed of glass reinforced polyester and foam sandwich. The Byte is designed for sailors weighing 120 to 145lb (54 to 66kg) although most sailors weighing 90 to 160lb (41 to 73kg) should have no problems sailing this boat on a recreational basis.
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.
Byte Classic
The Byte Classic 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.
Byte CII
Line drawing of the Byte CII rig
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 1123[3] and D-PN of 91.4.[4]
Byte CI
The Byte CI acts as an alternative for the CI in heavy weather or for lighter sailors. It's Portsmouth Yardstick number was 1223 as of 2026.
Fleets
Although the Byte class operates on numerous continents, its largest fleets have historically been in Canada, Singapore, Bermuda, Great Britain and Switzerland.
The class is no longer recognised by World Sailing,[5] with very few sailors and active class accoiations around the world. The 2025 British Nationals that were scheduled to take place on Hayling Island were cancelled due to lack of entrants. The last Byte national championship to be held anywhere in the world took place in July 2024 at Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy in England. 10 boats competed in the event with Duncan Glen winning the CII and Jessica Skelding winning the all junior CI event.[6]
The Byte CII was 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 2000 and 2002.
The Byte CII is produced by Hartley Boats (UK) and Nautivela (Italy).[10][11] It has been previously produced by Zou Inter Marine, Zim Sailing, Nautivela SRL, Xtreme Sailing Products, Armada Boats and by Performance Sailcraft Pty Ltd, Sydney, Australia.
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