A Squib is a type of small racing keelboat designed in 1967 by Oliver Lee as a successor to the Ajax 23. It is a strict "one-design" class of boat, having a length of , beam of , a sail area of 170 sq. ft. (15.8 sq. mts.) upwind, 310 sq. ft. (29 sq. mts.) total and a weight of (including sails and fittings). The usual crew is two people and the boat can be cruised or raced with a Portsmouth Yardstick of 1142. The Squib has been adopted by the RYA as the National Keelboat and is big enough to race at sea and small enough to be trailed easily behind a family car.
The moulds have been owned by the National Squib Owners Association since 1994 and a new deck and a new hull mould were commissioned in 2009. Strict control is kept over Squib build to ensure that older boats do not become uncompetitive as has happened in some other classes. However, there were keel mould changes in Squib number 230 and again at 465.
Older Squibs are still prized. In 1996, the National Championship winning boat was a Barker Brewer build (771 Arctic Fox.) In 1999 and 2008, Parker built Squibs won. All the other Championships since 1996 were won by older boats, nine of them by boats built before 1972.
By 2010 over 810 Squibs have been built and the National Squib Owners Association has over 640 members. In 2009, the Special Olympics (for people with learning disabilities) were held in Leicester. The sailing events were at Rutland and the Squib was selected as the competition boat.
The class is beginning to have international aspirations. There is a fleet regularly raced in Malaysia. In the early days a couple of Squibs went to Tortola, in the British Virgin Islands as day charter boats and a fleet grew there but none of the boats now remain in use. Other early Squibs went to South Africa, Greece, Germany and Australia. Six brand new Squibs recently went to Germany and there is talk of the class featuring in Kiel Woche and of racing on the IJsselmeer in the Netherlands.
Racing
The first UK National Championship was held at Burnham, in 1972, with 29 competitors, and the event has been held at a different venue every year since then.
The Hunter 19 (Europa) is a development of the Squib, with a cabin added.