| Jeanneau | |
| Type: | Privately held company |
| Founded: | 1957 |
| Founder: | Henri Jeanneau |
| Hq Location City: | Les Herbiers |
| Hq Location Country: | France |
| Industry: | Boat building |
| Products: | Sailboats |
| Parent: | Groupe Beneteau |
| Divisions: | Jeanneau Advanced Technologies Lagoon catamaran |
Jeanneau is a French boatyard in Les Herbiers, in the Vendée département, which has produced yachts since 1957. It was founded by Henri Jeanneau, a hardware store owner, who began by producing power boats.[1] [2]
Jeanneau specializes in monohulls, but it created a specialist multihull line, Lagoon catamarans. Jeanneau (and Lagoon) became part of Groupe Beneteau in 1995.[3]
Henri Jeanneau's first boats in 1957 were wooden outboard motor-powered dinghy designs. He quickly moved to producing boats from fiberglass and by 1960 his motorboats, including the Jeanneau Sea-bird, were made from this new material, followed by the first sailboats in 1964.[1] [2]
In 1970 the company was purchased by the American conglomerate, Bangor Punta. By mid-1980 the company was sold again and became part of Chatellier SA. In 1990 there was a joint venture with Italian Ferretti Craft to build a series of yachts, but the project did not last long. In 1995 the company was bought out by Groupe Beneteau and became part of the largest global sailboat-building enterprise.[1] [2]
In the mid-1990s some Jeanneau designs were built in Polish boat yards, including the Sun Odyssey 24.1. In 2001 Ostroda Yachts of Poland became part of Jeanneau.[1] [2]
The Jeanneau Advanced Technologies division was set up to build custom projects, such as the trimarans for the film Waterworld and some Americas Cup designs.[1] [2]
Designs built by the company include:[1]