Fountaine Pajot Catamarans For Sale

The world’s leading builder of cruising catamarans, the Fountaine Pajot boatyard was set up in 1976 near La Rochelle. The original team consisted of four people and built the 505 under the leadership of Jean-François FOUNTAINE, a well known regatta competitor recently returned from the Montreal Olympics. Innovative and well built, these craft immediately attracted the best French competitors. The enterprise then developed further, with other models of dinghies, the 420 and 470, built at the new Aigrefeuille yard, opened in 1978.

As early as 1980, Fountaine Pajot altered course and started to build Prototype IOR, monohull racers. These half-tonners from the Fountaine stable were to become world champions and win the prestigious Figaro solo race. The reputation of the yard in the world of ocean racing was thus established.

In 1981, the first multi-hulled vessel left the Fountaine Pajot yard. This was the 18 m deep-sea racing trimaran,the Royale, built entirely in foam-core sandwich for Loïc Caradec et Philippe Facque. The Fountaine Pajot team committed itself to open class racing, involving itself deeply in the adventure of Charente Maritime sailing vessels. Fountaine Pajot started building cruising catamarans in 1983 with a vision to develop a complete range of entry level through to large ocean going, world cruising catamaran designs. At this early stage in the development of production catamarans, Fountaine Pajot set out with the focus on innovative, safe, unsinkable and seaworthy designs that are now the benchmark for the world catamaran market.