The CDK Technologies shipyard innovates with a naming system

Since its creation in 1984, the CDK Technologies yard has been constantly evolving and innovating, as well as coming up with novel solutions for all its clients. Today, CDK Technologies is proud to launch its 40th offshore race boat, Charal 2, christened CDK-I(F)-15-2022. Following the successful construction of Charal 1, Jérémie Beyou naturally placed his trust in the yard's teams once again in his constant quest for performance and innovation.

"It comes as an immense source of pride to have adhered to the build schedule and to have constructed the boat so professionally", explains Capucine Cadiou, project manager for Charal 2 within the yard. "Construction began very early, just as it did with Charal 1, in 2017, for the Vendée Globe 2020-2021. Once again, the primary goal for Jérémie Beyou and his team was to launch an IMOCA as early as possible to be raring to go and performing well in the Vendée Globe 2024-2025. As a result, not only did we have to stick to the deadlines, but we also had to make the boat as innovative and competitive as possible," explains the engineer, whose daily mission involves being able to continuously reinvent herself in a bid to respond to even the most complicated technological challenges to create a truly standout boat.

Reaping the rewards of work carried out by a committed and versatile team

"In this latest project, like all the yard's projects, there have been a variety of technical challenges to overcome. CDK Technologies' strength lies in its ability to provide innovative, high-performance solutions that fulfil Charal Sailing Team's expectations. Having already worked with this team during the construction of Charal 1 has genuinely been an advantage, because it's enabled us to benefit from a high level of maturity to make our exchanges more fluid, even though ultimately the two boats are completely different," explains the engineer. She goes on to note that this latest Sam Manuard design, with her broad spatula bow, is intended to be easy on the helm, ergonomic, versatile and exploitable.

"The work we've collaborated on together has enabled us to come up with a project today that's been very successfully completed," explains Lionel David, technical foreman of the workshop, for whom the challenge over the past few months has been to simultaneously monitor the manufacture of parts and assembly of the boat. "Getting the teams to adapt to the manufacture and assembly of parts has been a key element in the triumph of this project. In this way, we've be able to rely on staff who are both committed and versatile", agrees Florian St James, CDK Technologies' foreman. "Together we've managed to take on all the challenges associated with this Charal 2 project."

At CDK Technologies, it has taken 12 months, 30,000 man-hours and over 20 people to bring this build to a successful conclusion.

Jérémie Beyou, skipper of the IMOCA 60' monohull Charal 2:

"We were very pleased with the quality of the work carried out in the construction of Charal 1 by the CDK Technologies yard. It's no coincidence that we reckoned it was the best placed entity to build Charal 2. This expertise and their geographical proximity to us were key elements in our decision to use them again. It was the best possible option. We speak the same language and we're all aware that innovation is essentially all about the women and men. Without healthy and constructive communication, nothing would have been accomplished." insisted Jérémie Beyou at the start of construction of Charal 2.

Mathieu BIGARD – CEO of the BIGARD Group:

" CDK Technologies reflects the qualities of our own group, a leading company in its field, which is constantly breaking new ground and investing in its production tools. Charal 2 is the second IMOCA we've had built at CDK Technologies and we're very pleased with the production process, the quality of the work and the finish."
CDK Technologies launches a reference system for naming its new builds

The launch of Charal 2, the 40th boat to come out of the CDK Technologies yard, is also the opportunity to inaugurate a reference system for naming all the yard's production moving forward, from the initial composite lay-up and onwards throughout their lives. In accordance with this reference system, Charal 2 has been christened CDK-I(F)-15-2022. The latter details its construction rank with the IMOCA (Foiler) fleet, followed by its year of launch. This is an effective guarantee of its traceability given the increased life expectancy of today's boats and their multiple lives. The launch of this reference system is also symbolic of the recognition given to the work carried out by the yard's teams, together with the scale of its productions since the creation of CDK Technologies.