Following its founding in 1956 by Henri Jeanneau, and subsequent sale and resales, Chantiers Jeanneau SA became, in 1995, a member of the Beneteau family of power and sailboat builders. Forty-plus years after its start, the company has produced 60,000 boats, and currently launches 4,000 boats annually, of which 1,200 to 1,500 are sailboats. The US market accounts for 100 to 125 sailboats. All are built in France, and range in size from 17 to 54 feet.

Skeptics assumed that the absorption of the smaller company would result in the loss of its identity, but results are the opposite. Beneteau and Jeanneau share the same top management, but marketing and dealer…