In the pint-sized sailing and racing dinghy department, everything and anything has been tried over the years, sometimes with mixed results. It's hard to beat the Optimist Dinghy in terms of simplicity. But when sailboat builders started playing with rotomolded plastic years ago, the doors were cast wide open. With rotomolding polyethylene you can try all sorts of things if you're clever, and with the Bug, designer Jo Richards and the folks at LaserPerformance have proven there's still plenty of room for creativity at 8 feet. Talk about one versatile dinghy.

The Bug starts as a boat for beginners with a short rig, and allows those beginners to climb the performance ladder with a larger performance rig. It's stable, thanks to its beam, and two skegs help its upwind ability and allow the boat to be towed tamely behind the family cruiser or a sailing school tender.

But it does more than sail well. It's equipped to be rowed (oars are optional and stored inside the hull), and there's an optional motor mount for a small outboard. There's even an optional integrated hard-plastic wheel, built into the bow, which will make for easy maneuvering around docks and marinas.

Even though our judges were well over the designed weight and size for the 8'5" Bug (the optimum crew weight is between 66 and 154 pounds), they were able to appreciate its sailing qualities. "Upwind the balance was good," said Stewart, "and the sail has a sweet spot for sheeting when the mast bends and matches the luff curve. It maneuvered well in light air and was stable."