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]
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]
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]
