Grand Banks Celebrates 70 Years of Pioneering Long-Range Cruising Yachts

Grand Banks Yachts is celebrating its 70th Anniversary, marking seven decades that have left an indelible mark on the world of power cruising. It is a legacy few boatbuilders can match. From market-defining designs to pioneering technologies, Grand Banks has consistently set the standard for what a serious cruising yacht should be, earning the loyalty of a devoted global community of owners who value craftsmanship as much as capability. 

'People who know me well know I’m not someone who spends much time looking in the rearview mirror,' said Mark Richards, CEO and Chief Designer of Grand Banks. 'But when you reach a milestone like this, it’s worth pausing to recognize the pioneers, craftsmen, designers, and owners who built something truly special. Grand Banks didn’t just build boats it helped define what long-range cruising could be. The responsibility we carry today is to honor that spirit of innovation while continuing to push forward.'

Founded as American Marine Ltd. in 1956, the company began as a shipwright’s enterprise dedicated to building honest, capable boats. That ethos found its defining expression in 1964 with the introduction of the Grand Banks 36, a cruising yacht that effectively created the production trawler category and established a design genre that would influence generations of passagemaking yachts.

Over the decades that followed, Grand Banks repeatedly pushed boundaries, from introducing the Alaskan raised pilothouse series in 1968, to pioneering the transition from wood to fiberglass construction, to launching the Eastbay line in 1993, which helped define the modern Down East performance cruiser.

When Richards assumed leadership of the company in 2014, he embraced that pioneering DNA as a mandate for the new vision. Drawing on his background as a world-champion sailor and shipwright, he led a strategic transformation that reimagined what long-range cruising yachts could achieve in the modern era.

That vision culminated in the Grand Banks 60, introduced in 2017, and the debut of the company’s V-WARP Technology a design and construction philosophy that delivers remarkable efficiency, performance, and range without compromise. 

The result is a new generation of Grand Banks yachts capable of long-range cruising at speed while achieving up to 65% greater fuel efficiency than comparable yachts in their class. Today, the Grand Banks and Eastbay portfolios span sixteen models, each reflecting that same commitment to innovation and purposeful design.

'Grand Banks has never been about standing still,' Richards added. 'From the beginning, this was a company willing to rethink what was possible. Our founders embraced new ideas, new materials, and better ways of building boats. That mindset continues to guide everything we do today.'

Looking ahead, Grand Banks is preparing to introduce the next chapter in the evolution of the brand with the forthcoming Grand Banks 70. Currently in development, the new model will build on the brand’s hallmark proven efficiency and performance while introducing refined design, expanded owner customization, and capabilities aimed squarely at the future of long-range cruising at speed.