The world-class engineering and environmental consulting firm CBCL has its head offices in Halifax, Nova Scotia (Canada) overlooking the harbour. In July 2026, these offices were going to witness an international event: the Canada Sail Grand Prix (Sail GP), a heart-pounding, high-octane sailing race. This major race coincided with a client event, leading CBCL to contact Playwell Bricks about commissioning a custom racing boat as a special, commemorative client gift.

During their discovery call, the client explained that they’d gotten the idea for this commission from a LEGO® boat a coworker had built and displayed in their office. They wanted to know if it was possible to commission their own boat, but with CBCL branding and colours. They’d also like this boat to nod to the Team Canada boat in the Sail GP event. 

The boat raced in the Sail GP event is known as an F50 foil catamaran. The boats used in these races are unique in that they are all identical (not including branding, of course), eliminating the need for handicaps to even the playing field. Winners take the prize based on team skill and racing ingenuity. 

Playwell Bricks team member Paul Lavallee took on the design of this challenging set. It would use a certain type of brick that insiders know as Technic™ and is favoured for vehicles because they give designers the chance to include more complex functionality. 

Paul took full advantage of this functionality. “The front foils can be moved up and down just like the real thing, the larger sail can move side to side, and the rudder foils also can turn side to side. I made sure to add lots of functions,” he says with pride.

Deep into the design phase, the client asked if the boat would be able to host minifigures as the racing crew. Paul was hesitant, worried that the boat he’d designed would have to be twice the size it was currently, which would blow the budget out of the water. 

He tested the minifigs and realized that while they didn’t have a lot of space to maneuver, this was actually accurate to the real thing. He just needed to adjust a few things to allow the minifigure crew members to stand. “I flipped a lift arm and added stud pins along it to link the minifigs,” recalls Paul. 

“Both sides are usable, the back side less so as the steering arm for the sail is there, but that would be hidden at the back of the display so they likely wouldn't want to hide minifigures back there, anyway. This also means that the figs they put in it can be facing outward toward the viewer of the displayed model.”

The client was delighted with this solution, moving this project into the graphic design phase and production. 

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