Jeanneau Yachts
 In 1959 Henry Jeanneau
establishes in Les Herbiers, France, "the
Nautical Hall of the West" which would
become, a few years later, the Jeanneau
shipyard. In 1961, Jeanneau's first
fibreglass powerboat -the Calanque- made its
debut. That same year, Jeanneau
created the first all-fibreglass boat with
this new material, a petrochemical product,
which allowed to create hundreds of hulls
from a single mould.
The first
Jeanneau sailboats were launched in 1964.
Technological innovations lowered production
and purchasing costs, and pleasure cruising
became accessible to the masses - the end of
the age of the "aristocratic sailor" and the
start of yacht chartering as a popular
holiday choice.
Jeanneau realised
early the importance of the new born charter market and started
designing vessels with this in mind. They offered some monumental
yachts like the Phillipe Briand's
Sun Fizz
in 1981 (which was the first boat below 12m. ever built, offering 2 aft
cabins layout), the
Sun Magic in 1987 (which proved that a charter boat does not
necessarily need to be "bulky" and slow), or the
Sun Odyssey 33,1 in 1991 (which was the first boat below 10m.
ever built with 4 rooms).
Early '90's Jeanneau introduced the
Sun Odyssey series -which is still today in production. The
Sun Odyssey yachts, as time advanced, became more sophisticated (and
expensive). Models after 2004 are capable for accommodating less
people -with more comforts (i.e. the latest
Sun Odyssey 42i is offered
only with 3-cabin layout, when the
Sun Odyssey 42,2 of last decade had four cabins).
Meanwhile,
Jeanneau America, Inc.
was established in
1991 in order to better serve the North
American Market. Today, Jeanneau
America remains a wholly owned subsidiary of
Chantiers Jeanneau, the parent company in
France. Located in Annapolis, Maryland
Jeanneau America is responsible for all
North American activities.
Jeanneau's boats today are elegant, well constructed with very high
standards in the finishing details. They are also very expensive
for chartering (this comparison is with other charter built yachts and
companies -not with Swans). The company has basically two lines of
production; the Sun Odyssey and the Deck Saloon (DS) which
are boats offering more space and comfort. In motoryachts the
Prestige series covers the markets needs with boats ranging from 30
to 50 feet.
|
|