Grand Soleil 56 history The origins of the 56 footer should go back to 1988, to the Grand Soleil 52, designed by Doug Peterson.  Cantiere del Pardo does not change models often (why should they?), but rather improves existing models continuously.  So, this boat remained in production
(with several updates, improvements and regatta winnings) until the end of the 90's.  In the year 2000 the Grand Soleil 56, designed by Philippe Briand this time, launched to remain in production until today (2007).