Dream Racer Boats prepares the retirement of Figaro Bénéteau 2 and the passage to the cruise

Thibaud Ramond, founder of Dream Racer Boats, poses on his Figaro1

The new Dream Racer Boats yard wants to give a second life to racing yachts. With the future refit of the Figaro Bénéteau 2 in sight, Thibaud Ramond explains his career and the ambitions of the company.

Engineer trained in southern hemisphere boating

Dream Racer Boats is the fruit of a young engineer's passion for boating. After technical studies at the Polytech Bordeaux school, Thibaud Ramond joined Safran to work on materials in the aeronautics field. Passionate about boating, he wants to put his theoretical knowledge of composites into practice. To put his hands in the resin, he decides to go abroad, to countries where the diploma does not prevent him from touching the concrete. He first set sail for Australia, where he took part in the construction of Polynesian canoes for the world championship. He then toured the country with his toolbox, offering his services to boat builders and repairers. He finally joined New Zealand, where he made the link between naval architect and shipyard for the development of composite materials for sport fishing yachts. "These experiences allowed me to gain experience and think about my future business plan on the French and foreign markets" explains the founder of Dream Racer Boats.

Interior of Figaro 1

Giving a 2nd life to ocean racing yachts

Back in France, Thibaud Ramond prepares the launch of his company. He will devote himself to the top-of-the-range and tailor-made fitting out of old offshore racing yachts to transform them into high-performance cruise ships. After 6 months to validate the concept, he launched Dream Racer Boats in January 2018.

If the customer does not already have the sailboat, the yard can arrange to pick up the used boat for him. A control tool, set up by Dream Racer Boats, allows him to validate the relevance of the refit of the sailboat. As the prime contractor for the modifications, the company does not sell the turnkey boat. Mobile thanks to a container structure, the yard is currently based in Trégunc, Finistère.

Figaro development project

The Figaro 2 opportunity

Ideal case studies, the different generations of Figaro Bénéteau are the first projects of Dream Racer Boat. The renovation of a Figaro 1 will be the company's first showcase. Thibaud Ramond is also aiming for 2019, where the arrival of the new foiling yacht on the circuit should lead to the birth of a major second-hand market on the Figaro 2. "We're going to position ourselves on the transformation of the Figaro 2 for the high-performance cruise, but there's also something to be done by working on the IRC rating," says Thibaud Ramond. Dream Racer Boats has plenty to think about, at a time when rapid technological developments are creating an important market for second-hand racing yachts.

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