Our Association

The fleet of 53 boats are mainly based at Thorpe Bay Yacht Club and Maylandsea Bay Sailing Club in Essex

The Sandhopper, designed in the 1970s by Oliver Lee, still offers excellent sailing and is currently the largest One Design fleet on the Thames Estuary, providing:

• racing with crew of two or three
• leisure sailing with the family
• bilge keel hull design for drying moorings
• all at a very affordable cost and low maintenance

The Class Association was reformed in 1997 as the Sandhopper Class British Association following a resurgence of interest in the Class and a strong desire of the original 40 boats to protect the One Design status.

The Sandhopper is the shallow draft version of the Squib, being feather light on the helm at all times and has the added advantage of being able to lay safely on exposed moorings which dry out at low tide, with its lower draft and GRP twin bilge keels.

The underwater lines of the hull are as fine as possible to give good performance in light airs and the sections above the water line are flared out to a generous beam of 1.87m (62) combined with a ballast ration of 55 gives ample stability and power to carry full sail in the strongest of winds.

Please see website for class rules on our website.

Last updated 1:37pm on 27 March 2026