Born in 1967, Hakim Rahmoun was almost bottle-fed with salt water since his father held a diving club on the Algerian coast. Diving courses in the summer, underwater work in the winter, this is the rhythm of Larbi Rahmoun, Hakim's father. At six years old, the boy already spends a lot of time on his father's boats, big Zodiacs with plywood floor and inflatable keel.
He dives with tanks for the first time at age 7! " I loved it right away! When I was a teenager, my brother and I got interested in snowboarding: fun board for me, water skiing for him. "Papa Larbi decided to build his own diving boat. In the end, a fisherman buys him the hull, which will be the start of a new activity: shipbuilding. The specialty? Fishing boats and workboats made of euro steel and then aluminum much later.
Discovering sailing with your family
In 1980, Larbi built a Rêve d'Antilles, the famous Finot design favored by frequent travelers. "Ours was modified with an aft cockpit," Hakim explains, "this model then became Rêve des Seychelles." Aboard this sturdy steel cruiser named El Arabi, the family travels the Mediterranean.
For Hakim, in the company of his brother and his father, it is the learning of the maneuver of a real sailboat. In the early 1990s, as a young student, Hakim sailed during the summer. Now a father and math teacher in Neuilly - in 1994, he takes full advantage of his vacations - he's on board!
Takeover of the Olbia shipyard
In 2000, Hakim takes over the Olbia shipyard in Hyères, specialized since 1988 in hull fitting, refit and saddlery. Our amateur yachtsman became a professional in the boating industry, like his father. And like him, he is mainly interested in metal construction, or wood, but not so much in polyester.
He continues to sail aboard his father's sturdy aluminum boat, which has given up sailing and switched to motors. But "all motor" during the summer vacations is not Hakim's thing. Especially since there is always a small boat at the shipyard - still motorized - or a semi-rigid, ready for an express trip to Porquerolles.
So, for real cruising, Hakim prefers to rent sailboats. And then the handovers of the units fitted out by Olbia allow him to sail. Hakim is more and more interested in aluminum travel sailboats until he receives a quote to refurbish a Pouvreau 11.30, or more precisely the prototype of this model signed Gilles Vaton, the big brother of the Romanée.
Sailing, but on an aluminum hull!
Under the name Chimère Rouge, this boat won the Baule-Dakar in its class in 1984. The three co-owners are very annoyed after their boat violently hit a rock in the Lavezzi. No water ingress, but the keel is twisted and the rudder almost blocked.
Its value is estimated by the expert at 30 000 euroseuros against 25 000 of works. "The owners were tempted to sell. I made a deal for 3,500 euros. In 2012, we cut the structure of the bottoms, put the keel back in place, then re-welded a structure". After an overhaul of the rigging and the engine, Haka Dada was launched. The origin of this funny name?" Haka Dada comes from the song of Arthur H, Higelin's son, I like this title. A crazy guy, the song as much ". Hakim decided to live on board before setting up his shipyard in the Arcachon basin four years ago. His Pouvreau remained in the Mediterranean
A new range of baroudeurs
Thanks to his links with the Méta shipyard and the naval architect Jean-Pierre Brouns, Hakim drew up the specifications for a new compact sailboat, but one capable of taking on ocean voyages. Thick aluminum hull of course ! -but polyester deck and bubble deck. The New World is born . Launched last summer and presented in the wake of the Grand Pavois. The second model is currently being finished. It will be followed by two other boats, whose hulls are already in the yard. In light of this success, the New World range may soon offer a bigger brother of 11 meters to the current 9 meters.
