Jeanneau - Sail and power boats since 1957

In 1957 Henri Jeanneau, already passionate about aircraft and cars, discovered powerboating and built a wooden hull with which he won the Paris 6-Hour race. A pastime became a trade in Les Herbiers, Vendée, a region of craft heritage. As early as 1958 the yard switched to fibreglass: Sport Polyester, Mirage and Prélude won over customers still sceptical of the new material. In 1963 came the first production outboard, the Sea Bird; in 1964 the Alizé sailboat opened the production-sailing chapter. The 1970s brought the rise of accessible pleasure boating. The Love Love and above all the Sangria (around 3,000 units) established Jeanneau as a major player in liveaboard sailboats. In 1976 a Melody completed a single-handed Atlantic crossing, proving a production boat could go offshore. On the power side, Cap Camarat was born in 1980 with the 575, quickly nicknamed the “4x4 of the seas”: the line became an international reference for sporty family day boats and remains central in the Mediterranean today. Meanwhile Jeanneau Techniques Avancées (JTA) developed racing prototypes, multihulls and America’s Cup projects, while the yard dominated inshore Formula racing with Kevlar hulls. In 1985 the first Lagoon was launched; in 1989 the first Prestige, designed by Garroni, opened the luxury motor-yacht market. In 1995 Jeanneau joined Groupe Beneteau — a union of two Vendée families that reshaped the French leisure-boat industry. Lagoon and Microcar entered the same consolidation wave. Since then Jeanneau has consolidated a clear dual offer. In sail: Sun Odyssey (including multi-award-winning walk-around decks from 2018), Sun Fast, and Jeanneau Yachts up to 64 feet and beyond. In power: Cap Camarat, Merry Fisher, Leader, NC, DB and Velasco. The yard operates one of the world’s largest production sites for series boats in Les Herbiers and builds in the United States (including Cadillac, Michigan, for some NC models). In Corsica, two dealers anchor the brand on the local day-boat and coastal-cruiser market, within the same Groupe Beneteau ecosystem as Beneteau and Prestige. Jeanneau thus remains one of the most visible signatures in French and Mediterranean marinas, from Cap Camarat day boats to Merry Fisher coastal cruisers.