1974 Jeanneau Gin Fizz

The Jeanneau Gin Fizz changed all that when it was introduced at the Paris Boat Show in 1974. Suddenly it became possible within a reasonable budget to reach the far out islands or even to see for yourself that the World was really round.

The Gin Fizz also paved the way for an emerging industrial leader. It has also given us some formidable sailors. The design of the Gin Fizz came from the drawing board of a young naval architect, Michel Joubert who was known for his own racing boats built with very scarce resources. He designed the Gin Fizz as a polyvalent boat, that is a boat suitable for all kind of uses from family cruising, offshore passages to racing.

The Gin Fizz was the first boat built by Jeanneau for open sea and long passages. No one really knew how the boat should have been technically dimensioned and Jeanneau decides to play it safe. The Bateaux magazine describes it as a close application of the principle “le trop fort n’a jamais manqué”. The dimensioning has always impressed those who have had to make holes to the hull.

The deck is in sandwich balsa and it is glued, bolted and on top of that stratified to the hull. The simple and strong construction is certainly one of the reason you still find these boats all around the world.

At the beginning of this article it was said that Gin Fizz is a kind of obvious pick for a venture like the one of Laura Dekker due to considerations of security and comfort at sea, ease of handling and the ability to make a lot of miles. Now it is time to try answer to these claims.

The keys to security at sea are based on the simple and very sturdy construction and good dimensioning of everything onboard the boat. With close to three tons of ballast placed very low due to the keel form grants a good stability. Gin Fizz is also a very well balanced boat in particular with the ketch version that allows easy adjustment of the balance in varying conditions.