The decision by many international race yacht owners to trade "up" from their Farr 40s into the fast-growing Transpac 52 class is paying big dividends for New Zealand boat manufacturer, Rayglass Boats.
Rayglass, who manufacture the popular range of Protector RIB patrol craft and tenders in their Mt Wellington facility,
have, over the last 10 years, supplied many Farr 40 owners with Rayglass 8.5m Cabin Protectors.
As many of those owners complete their move into the new, bigger, TP52 class they are also choosing to upgrade their tenders.
Other yacht racing teams and syndicates, such as Emirates Team New Zealand, have also now joined the TP52 circuit and, they too, are choosing to use Protectors for their support craft.
"We have already supplied six Rayglass 11m Cabin Protectors to new Transpac 52 owners," says Tony Hembrow, Rayglass CEO, "and we are in discussions with several others."
The larger Protectors, which are typically powered by twin 250hp outboards, are used for transporting equipment such as replacement sails as well as carrying the team's shore crews and supporters.
Hembrow says the popularity of the Protector range as support boats for the TP52 yachts is helping to further expand the New Zealand-built RIB's reputation.
"Protector is now clearly the world's number one choice in patrol craft and tenders for both race syndicates and superyachts," he says.
