Byte CII - Armada Boats

Above The new Byte CIIrapid-reaction rig workedwell, sucessfully soakingup the gusts.Above right With itssuper-light rig the Byteis easy to right after acapsize.YachtsandYachting.comobviously hoping that the CII would go Olympic.But when it came to the crucial ISAF vote lastmonth for the Olympic women’s singlehanderclass, the Byte CII was passed over in favour of theLaser Radial. Losing the vote may not be such abad thing. Olympic boats tend to become so elitistthat they lose much of their attraction forrecreational sailors. The Byte is now back where itbelongs as a solo racer for lightweights, broughtright up to date with an automatic-response rig.Rig and sailsFor this test I got together with ChristinaBassadone, who helmed the women’sTeam GBR470 into seventh place at the Athens Olympics.Christina claims she’s ‘never really sailedPHOTOS JEREMY EVANSsinglehanders’ since messing about in Toppers asa young girl, but was keen to try a boat for clubracing while she finishes her last year atSouthampton University.On a cold, blustery November day, Christinarigged the Byte CII for the first time with noproblems — even without the standard CII Rigand Sail Manual — and once you’ve got the hangof it it’s really no more than a 10-minute job. Thecarbon and glass two-part mast make thecomplete rig with new Mylar sail and originalaluminium boom very light at just 7.3kg — it willalso fit in a sail bag of under three metres foreasy transport.Unlike a Laser or Topper, the Byte has a propertrack for the mainsail boltrope, with the halyardlocked off at the top of the mast. The extra pieceof triangular Mylar that covers kicker,cunningham and assorted string at the front ofthe rig, called the ‘cuff’, is a completely separatepiece of material, with no stitching or zipperattaching it to the mainsail. Instead, there are twopairs of elasticised clips that hold it back oneither side of the sail, front set for lighter windsor rear set for stronger.The Byte CII is a sweet-looking boat, andvery stylishly presented by Topper withcontrasting dark blue and light grey hull,showing off the see-through Mylar sail withscarlet trimmings to perfection.SailingChristina settled into sailing the boat while I tooka grandstand view of the rapid reaction of therig. You could see it working all the time, withloads of bend in the mast as it soaked up gustson this blustery day. For most people, masteringthe CII rig will require careful study of themanual followed by plenty of practice to get usedto its traits.The most important sail control is the 8:1cunningham which Ian Bruce describes as ‘the CII

ANSWER BACKfrom Rick Reading45-60kg with herself at the top end of the range.That could provide the ideal squad sailor steppingstonebetween the Optimist and Laser Radial, with68-70 kg now reckoned to be necessary in theRadial if you’re serious — some girls (and boys) willnever get there. For people outside the youthsquad scene the Byte CII just looks like a nice,uncomplicated, sophisticated race boat for all agesat a really good price at under £3,000 — despitethe sophisticated rig, Olympic selection requiredkeeping the price right down. ■Above The Byte is anideal solo racer forlightweights.PHOTO JEREMY EVANSFirstly we would like to thank ChristinaBassadone and Jeremy Evans for theirimpressive review of the Byte CII. This testshows, without question, how far the CII rig hasadvanced the Byte into the 21st Century with itsskiff-derived self-depowering rig feature and itsstunning good looks.If you’re looking for a boat that offers moderncontrol features running from a traveller systemcentralised in front of the sailor and asinglehander that will give exhilaratingperformance for the lightweight sailors, the ByteCII is definitely worth a test sail.The great thing about the Byte CII is that theboat only weighs 45 kilos and, as Christinapointed out, the optimum weight ratio for theByte CII is between 48-68 kilos so lightweightsailors can race very effectively at their naturalweight without having to bulk up to fit the boat’sprofile. Ian Bruce has proved beyond any doubtfrom his demographic data that most young boysand girls, as well as smaller adults, will not reachthe weight demanded by the Laser Radial.Jeremy also points out that, with thisAutomatic Response Rig, the Byte CII is yearsahead of more traditional classes in its sail andrig design. Why not visit our stand at the ExcelLondon Boat Show and check out the impressiverig development of the Byte CII?Thanks to Cobnor Activities centre (CAC) forproviding facilities for this test. CAC runs a fullprogramme of residential and non-residentialsailing courses and activities in Chichesterharbour, for details visit www.cact.co.ukSpecification BYTE CIIALTERNATIVES…DESIGN: Ian Bruce in 1990LENGTH: 3.65mBEAM: 1.3mHULL WEIGHT:45kgSAIL AREA:5.6sq mLATEST PN: 1159PRICE (inc trolley and top cover): £2,995The Byte was just one option for the women’s singlehander spot...CONTACT:YachtsandYachting.comTopper International LtdKingsnorth Technology ParkWotton RoadAshfordKentTN23 6LNTEL: 01233 645 897EMAIL:info@toppersailboats.comWEBSITE:www.toppersailboats.com• EuropeLosing the Olympic spot may be nobad thing. The Europe provides ahighly refined sailing experience forsolo sailors around 55-75kg.Expensive new, but great valuesecond-hand with the era ofcheque-book competition at an end.LOA: 3.35mBEAM: 1.38mHULL WEIGHT:45kgSAIL AREA:7sq mLATEST PN: 1139GUIDE PRICE: £6,000*• Laser RadialLaser hull with a smaller, moreforgiving rig. RYA-nominated youthclass for racers in 54-70 kg weightrange and the new women’sOlympic singlehanded class for the2008 Games.LOA: 4.23mBEAM: 1.37mHULL WEIGHT:60kgSAIL AREA:5.76sq mLATEST PN: 1101GUIDE PRICE: £3,320**Guide prices are approximate and include sails