Skip to content

Chichester 01243 550042

  • Home
  • Jeanneau Powerboats
    • Stock Boat Offers
    • DB Yachts
      • DB/43 IB
      • DB/37 IB
    • NC
      • NC 37
    • Cap Camarat Center Console
      • Cap Camarat 6.5CC S3
      • Cap Camarat 7.5CC
      • Cap Camarat 9.0CC
      • Cap Camarat 10.5 CC
    • Cap Camarat Walk Around
      • Cap Camarat 6.5WA
      • Cap Camarat 7.5WA
      • Jeanneau Cap Camarat 9.0 WA
      • Jeanneau Cap Camarat 10.5 WA S2
      • Jeanneau Cap Camarat 12.5 WA
    • Merry Fisher
      • Merry Fisher 605 S2
      • Merry Fisher 695 S2
      • Merry Fisher 795 S2
      • Merry Fisher 895
      • Merry Fisher 1095
      • Merry Fisher 1095 Fly
      • Merry Fisher 1295 Fly
    • Merry Fisher Sport
      • Merry Fisher 695 Sport
      • Merry Fisher 795 Sport
      • Merry Fisher 895 Sport
    • Jeanneau Archive Power
      • Cap Camarat 4.7CC
      • Cap Camarat 5.1CC
      • Cap Camarat 5.5CC
      • Cap Camarat 6.5CC
      • Cap Camarat 8.5CC
      • Cap Camarat 5.5WA
      • Cap Camarat 8.5WA
      • Cap Camarat 9.0WA
      • Cap Camarat 10.5WA
      • Cap Camarat Bow Rider
        • Cap Camarat 5.5BR
        • Cap Camarat 6.5BR
      • Cap Camarat Day Cruiser
        • Cap Camarat 6.5DC
        • Cap Camarat 7.5DC
      • Leader
        • Leader 33
        • Leader 36
      • Leader 30
      • Leader 40
      • Leader 46
      • Merry Fisher 605
      • Merry Fisher 695
      • Merry Fisher 795
      • Merry Fisher 695 Marlin
      • Merry Fisher 795 Marlin
      • Merry Fisher 875 Marlin
      • NC 9
      • NC 11
      • NC 14
      • NC 33
      • Velasco
        • Velasco 37F
        • Velasco 43
        • Velasco 43F
  • Jeanneau Sailboats
    • Stock Boat Offers
    • Jeanneau Range
    • Sun Odyssey
      • Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 349
      • Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 380
      • Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 410
      • Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 440
      • Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 490
    • Jeanneau Yachts
      • Jeanneau Yacht 55
      • Jeanneau Yacht 60
      • Jeanneau Yacht 65
    • Sun Fast
      • Jeanneau Sun Fast 3300
    • Jeanneau 360 Docking System
    • Jeanneau History
    • Jeanneau Archive
      • Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 33i
      • Jeanneau Sun Fast 3200
      • Jeanneau Sun Fast 3300
      • Jeanneau Sun Fast 3600
      • Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 379
        • Jeanneau Sun Fast 3600
      • Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 389
      • Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 409
      • Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 419
      • Jeanneau 41DS
      • Jeanneau 44DS
      • Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 439
      • Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 449
      • Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 469
      • Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 479
      • Jeanneau 45DS
      • Jeanneau Yacht 53
      • Jeanneau 50 DS
      • Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 519
      • Jeanneau Yacht 51
      • Jeanneau Yacht 54
      • Jeanneau Yacht 58
      • Jeanneau Yacht 64
  • BRIG RIBS
    • Eagle
      • Eagle 3.5
      • Eagle 4
      • Eagle 5
      • Eagle 6
      • Eagle 6.7
      • Eagle 8
      • Eagle 10
    • Navigator
      • Navigator 26
      • Navigator 24
      • Navigator 610
      • Navigator 570
    • Falcon Rider
      • Falcon 450
      • Falcon 500
      • Falcon 570
    • Falcon Tender
      • Falcon 300
      • Falcon 330
      • Falcon 360
      • Falcon 380
      • Falcon 420
    • BRIG RIB Archive
      • Eagle 340
      • Eagle 380
      • Falcon 480
      • Eagle 650
      • Falcon 400
      • Navigator 485
      • Navigator 520
      • Navigator 700
  • Boats For Sale
  • Sell Your Boat
  • About
    • News
    • Services
    • Testimonials
    • Finance
  • Contact

Jeanneau History

Jeanneau HistoryJeanneau History
In 1957, Henri Jeanneau, already passionate about aeroplanes and automobiles, had just discovered a brand new passion for powerboating, one that began as he watched a boat pass by his window. Soon afterward, in Les Herbiers, France, home to a rich heritage of artisan work, he began building a wooden hull with which he participated in the 6-hour Paris race, the largest national race at the time. He was first to cross the line, and this galvanised him. So, a past time became a trade. In 1959, he hired canoe builders as apprentices in his new business, “the Nautical Hall of the West,” which would become, a few years later, the Jeanneau shipyards. France was seeing unprecedented economic growth, and the new company executive quickly understood that the appearance of new electric appliances designed to ease household chores would allow families to devote more time to leisure activities – to the sun, to the sea, and to boating!

The 60’s: the début of Jeanneau powerboats
In 1961, Jeanneau’s first fibreglass powerboat made its début. It was the Calanque. It retained the wooden deck and featured the lines of a frigate, which made perfect sense because it was moulded onto a wooden hull. That same year, a dream became a reality: Jeanneau created the first all-fibreglass boat. This new material, a petrochemical product, created an unprecedented technological advantage. From a single mould, hundreds of hulls could be created. The fibreglass was applied to the mould and impregnated with resin, spread on by a roller. Afterward, workers had only to wait for the new hull to cure, and then they moved on to the next one.

It was the beginning of a grand saga of powerboats built at over 1,500 in a series. One after another, the names followed: the “Squale,” the “Lion de Mer,” the “Caraïbe,” and then the first great Jeanneau motor yacht, the “Impérator 900,” launched in 1966. She was etched into a wall at 1/1 scale. The grand product lines included: Skanes, Arcachonnais, Esteou, Cap Camarat, Merry Fisher, Leader and Prestige.

Within half a century, a revolution took place
From the artisan work of the 1960’s that was the norm in France and elsewhere – each boat was unique, and often customised while still on the production lines – to 2007 and the new technological advances similar to those seen in the aeronautical field, allowing Jeanneau to create boats using 3-dimensional design software and digitally controlled laser-cutting machines. Over the past 50 years of development, the men and women of Jeanneau have evolved in their fields while preserving their passion for the sea and love of work well done. At Jeanneau, the woodworkers have held on to their planes and mechanics have kept their tools for repairs. In the beginning, to test the solidity of the first fibreglass boats, a boat was hitched to a towrope and put in on Lake Tricherie, about 10 km. from the Les Herbiers, France factory and yards. There, at full speed, it was launched over a wooden ramp and into the air, clearing a nearby road, to land in a field. Henri Jeanneau was at the helm, of course. Today, real-life tests are conducted on ocean crossings or circumnavigations.

The 1970’s: Pleasure cruising for the masses
The first Jeanneau sailboats were launched in 1964, a date that is synonymous with the democratisation of pleasure cruising. That same year, Éric Tabarly captured the public’s attention when he competed in the English transatlantic race, “l’Ostar,” aboard his 44-foot ketch, the “Pen Duick II.”

Where would French ocean racing – or even pleasure cruising – be without Eric Tabarly’s victory in 1964? It was the first time that a French national beat the English on their own turf. Tabarly became the pride of France. He passed his passion for the sea on to a new generation, and he created a veritable craze for sailing among the French. He inspired many careers, leaving in his wake a number of skippers who would know fame in their own right, including Alain Colas, Olivier de Kersauson, Philippe Poupon, Marc Pajot, Titouan Lamazou, Michel Desjoyeaux, Philippe Monnet, Francis Joyon, and Jean Le Cam.

In the late 1960’s, pleasure cruising sailboats became mainstream, and shipyards like Jeanneau would produce their first sailboats to benefit from this new enthusiasm for sailing. Technological innovations lowered production and purchasing costs, and pleasure cruising became accessible to the masses. The celebrated Glénans sailing school found its stride in this same period. It was the end of the age of the aristocratic sailor, and sailboat production exploded with the fabulous Sangria, a model launched by Jeanneau in 1970 that sold over 2,700 boats. This formidable success cemented Jeanneau’s place at the forefront of the marine industry in the design and construction of cruising sailboats.

View the Jeanneau Yachts promotional video

Contact Us

Blackrock Yachting Ltd,
Unit D3
Chichester Marina
Chichester
PO20 7EJ
CALL US ON 01243 550042 OR CLICK HERE TO MAKE AN ENQUIRY

Part of Network Yacht Brokers

Site designed by Livetech

Subscribe

Sign up to receive our exclusive offers

Blackrock Yachting - Jeanneau Main Dealers & Network Yacht Brokers