Grand Soleil Yachts for Sale

Grand Soleil is the sailing brand of Cantiere del Pardo, founded in 1973 by Giuseppe Giuliani Ricci near Bologna and now based in a purpose built yard at Forlì, between Bologna and the Adriatic. The house style has always been a cruising boat that races honestly, and the yard has never used one designer: Jean Marie Finot drew the first 34, then Alain Jezequel, German Frers, Doug Peterson, Bruce Farr, Philippe Briand, Judel Vrolijk, the Jakopin brothers, Botin Carkeek and Matteo Polli have all had boats in the range. Today the line splits into Performance and Long Cruise versions of the same hulls, plus the GS Blue day sailer and the larger GS Plus models to 80 feet. Cantiere del Pardo also owns Pardo Yachts and, since 2020, VanDutch.

On the used market the question is always which version you are looking at. A Performance boat and a Long Cruise boat of the same length share a hull and very little else: different keel depth, different rig, different interior, different buyer. Grand Soleils hold value because they sail well and because the yard is still trading after fifty years, so a 2005 boat can still be asked about. For an American owner the Italian build shows up in the details. Boats delivered new in Europe are built to CE category standards and wired 230 volt 50 hertz, and European sailing hardware, Sparcraft or Selden spars, Italian hatches, Volvo saildrives, means a longer wait on some parts than a domestic boat would need. Grand Soleil sells here through appointed dealers, Flagship Yacht Sales covers New York to Maine, rather than a factory yard, so before you buy ask who has been servicing the boat, whether the electrics were converted for United States shore power, and whether import duty was paid on entry.