Jean-Jacques Herbulot

Jean-Jacques Herbulot (29 March 1909 – 22 July 1997) was a French sailor and competitor in sailing at the Summer Olympics. He was also a noted naval architect and designed many sailboats.

Early life and education Herbulot was born in Belval, Ardennes in France. His formal education was as an architect and he earned a Diplôme d'Ingénieur. However, he soon turned his attention to sailboat design instead.

Design career Herbulot started designing boats in 1947, specializing in sailboats of plywood construction for amateur builders and for sailing schools. He designed over 100 boat types during his design career. He is described by Bruce McArthur as "one of the best known figures in the French sailing world. As a designer, he is responsible for bringing the sport of sailing to those who had never before had the means to participate."

During the 1950s Herbulot also designed a new style of diagonal-cut spinnaker that was widely adopted by racing sailors.

Olympics Herbulot competed in sailing in the Los Angeles 1932 Summer Olympics and the Kiel 1936 Summer Olympics in the Star class. In the Torquay 1948 Summer Olympics he sailed in the Firefly dinghy class and in the Melbourne 1956 Summer Olympics completed in the 5.5 Metre keelboat class.

Death Herbulot died on 22 July 1997 in Blois, Loir-et-Cher, France at age 88.

Boat designs Some of his designs include: Herbulot Le Dinghy - 1948 Herbulot Grondin - 1948 Herbulot Vaurien - 1951 Herbulot Caravelle - 1952 Herbulot P'Tit Gars - 1953 Herbulot Corsaire - 1954 Herbulot Maraudeur - 1958 Herbulot Milord - 1963 Herbulot Mousquetaire - 1964 Oceanix - 1964 Oceanix TX - 1966 Flibustier - 1982 Herbulot Cap Corse - 1959 Herbulot Cap Horn - 1959 Herbulot Cap Vert - 1959 As de Pique - 1962 As de Trefle - 1962 Herbulot Boucanier - 1962 Brick (keelboat) - 1964 Herbulot Etendard - 1968 Figaro 5 - 1975 Figaro 6 - 1982