Rayglass has been around for 34 years since 1985, and every single year has been a busy one. We’ve grown from a little garage operation in Pakuranga into the leading and most awarded manufacturer of GRP boats in the New Zealand, and have become a Global supplier for big names like Emirates Team New Zealand, Americas Cup, NZ Police, NZ Coastguard and Customs.
Despite all that, 2019 may have been Rayglass’ biggest year yet.
New Range of Protectors
The team at Rayglass have been working extremely hard behind the scenes on the second generation of Protectors which were released this year, this includes the Protector Chase and Targa Range. Available from 25 feet to 41 feet these new vessels are a game changer to the industry and have also seen an unprecedented response from the market with forward orders out to April 2021.
America’s Cup & Coastguard collaboration
Earlier in the year, we secured the tender to build 24 high performance Protectors for a special collaboration between Rayglass, NZ Coastguard and the America’s Cup. The vessels are all owned by Coastguard but are on loan to the America’s Cup for use as support and safety boats for races and regattas.
In March 2021, once the America’s Cup is concluded, the boats will be returned to the New Zealand Coastguard. Following the Regatta our team will refit the vessels to ensure they are ready for active duty. The boats will be distributed to various Coastguard units throughout the country to enable them to spend more time on the water doing what they do best, saving lives at sea.
Team Rayglass all set up at the NZ on water boat show
Another big year the boat shows
We love attending boat shows – they give us a chance to talk boating for days and call it work. In 2019, we attended two excellent events. It was our first time on the water at the Auckland On-Water Boat Show and we saw a great response to our popular Legend range.
Earlier in the year, we also attended the Hutchwilco Boat Show and came away with some silverware. The Legend 2800 picked up one of the big prizes of the evening – Best All Purpose Family Boat Open, followed by the Legend 2500 taking out the Best All Purpose Family Boat under 8 meters. This is the third year in a row that these vessels have won these prizes!
Website and showroom revamp
We’re 100% focused on building the highest quality vessels in the country so we decided it was time to refresh our website with a full re design and we reckon its a fantastic place to immerse yourself in our world. You can find out everything from model information, our proud history or latest news, events and stories, giving our customers a better experience in the early stages of their boat buying process and long after their boat has left our headquarters – click here to take a look.
Last of all, our showroom received a freshen up and also a new customer lounge which provides a refreshed and relaxed experience for current and future customers.
A Protector 310 Targa running some serious media gear for the world 49er sailing champs
Sail GP and 49er Sailing Champs official supplier
Sail GP is one of the world’s foremost sailing competitions. This year we have shipped 10 Protector Chase vessels to regattas all over the world for the event to use as support vessels.
We also recently had the first 8 Protectors built for the New Zealand Coastguard and America’s Cup on the water for the World 49er Sailing Champs, where the boats were used for transporting race officials and media personnel throughout the event. We were also over the moon to see Pete Burling and Blair Tuke take out the win for the 5th time in a row!
Last of all, we were very excited to fit the first of the new Mercury Racing 450hp V8 supercharged outboards in the country. We have now delivered 3 Protectors with the twin 450hp outboard combination and we definitely approve!
Despite all those big moments, our favorites are still the ones we share with our customers so when you’re out on the water this summer, let us know what you’re up to. Share your on-water adventures with us by using #therayglassway on Instagram and Facebook.
From the whole team at Rayglass – Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, enjoy your summer and we’ll see you in 2020!
