PS2000 - A Short History

Performance Sailcraft probably has the most prestigious history of any high performance dinghy builder in North America. With our origins in, firstly, the design and development of International 14s and then in the creation of the worldwide Laser phenomenon, the experience of our team in the design, development, building and marketing of performance dinghies is unparalleled.

Performance Sailcraft has its beginnings in 1960 when Ian Bruce returned from sailing in the Finn Olympics and sub-contracted the building of the Newport Finn in Canada under license. Then, in 1967, he finished his own International 14 from an English shell, built the first successful lightweight, self-depowering rig and went on to win two successive Prince of Wales Trophies, then emblematic of the Fourteen World Championship.

He and a friend, André Julien, then decided to get together to build more affordable 14s for the Canadian market and the Company was born. They built the Kirby Mk lll and Mk V International Fourteens and obtained the first license to build the new Australian designed Contender. But it was all being done as an exhausting, after hours hobby while the partners pursued their regular day jobs. They decided to close it down unless they could build a mass produced boat and turn it into a business. That boat was the Laser. Within three years Ian had opened majority-owned Performance Sailcraft production plants in eight countries and a licensee in California. The rest is history.

Since those early days, Performance has built, and supplied, these boats, in this order:

International Finn, the first Finn built in Canada - the Newport Finn
International 14, Bruce Kirby Mk III and Mk V
International Contender, first licensee outside Australia of a boat
deemed too difficult to sail by the ordinary mortal!
International Laser , nothing more need be said
International Optimist, the first glass Opti designed and geared for
production in North America by Ian Bruce after he saw
thousands in Europe when he and Peter Bjorn sailed in the Star
Olympics. It was 1972 - nobody understood! Many of these
boats are still sailing
International Tornado, hulls-only built as a sub-contract
International Fireball, built for Junior YRA programs, it was
immediately banned by the International Class because of its
innovative deck
International 470, a state of the art boat, licensed from Harken and
built in original Vanguard moulds, but dropped from the line
when the International Class allowed changes to the shape
Tasar, a two-adult hiking boat, designed by Frank Bethwaite. Now a
Recognized Class, It planed upwind 15 years ahead of its time.
International Laser ll, the first high performance World Youth boat
Laser Radial, rig designed by Ian Bruce and Hans Fogh and
developed by Ian without the support of the International Class,
the Laser Designer or Ian's own Board of Directors. He finished
it on his own, in his small R&D company, and predicted, in
writing, that it would one day surpass the Laser. It's close!
Laser 28, 1983, very high performance cruiser-racer designed by
Farr and built in the closed mould, VARI resin injection system
Byte, the first real alternative Youth trainer for the lightweight
male or female singlehander and the first dinghy class to
receive ISAF Recognized Status
International 29er, a completely new generation of boat - a true
skiff destined to become the next World Youth Class
Megabyte, a Farr designed performance singlehander catering to
much heavier crew weights without a loss of performance
Just launched - the 59er, Frank Bethwaite's revolutionary two
person hiking skiff with the performance of some of today's
double trapeze boats!

In 2002 we will add:
Club 420, built to the North American C420 Class Rules and Specs.
IOD 95 Optimist, its 30 years later and we still believe!!