Taking an old Rayglass 4000 and transforming it into a modern luxury launch

The Rayglass 4000 is the ultimate weekender vessel and the largest Legend we’ve ever built. It’s designed for entertaining and exploring and has a fantastic layout that has made it a bit of a cult vessel in New Zealand. 

We were stoked to hear from a 4000 owner who bought his boat way back in 2006. He wanted a full refurbishment to transform the boat from ageing and well-used to polished and modern - what followed was Rayglass’ biggest ever refurbishment on a single vessel. 

I’ll leave it to you Tim

Tim Tsomas, the head of Rayglass’ Premium Restoration Department, says the owner of the vessel trusted him with his vessel completely:

“Lovely guy. He’d owned the boat for almost 20 years and loved it. He liked the 3500 but he decided to modernise his boat instead.

He just said to me, I’ll leave it to you Tim, which was awesome.”

Tim knew the owner would want the best of everything so his Premium Restoration Team set about transforming the boat:

“He’d send me screenshots of the 3500 interior and say can we do this and this. So we changed almost everything. We kept the classic lines of the 4000 but upgraded everything to the standard of the 3500 to provide the flow and function of a modern boat.”

Transforming the 4000

Updating and upgrading every surface of a 40 foot vessel is a big job, so Tim and the team got started right away:

“We removed a great big BBQ box to open up the living space and replaced it with a reverse flipping 2.5 seat leather couch. We installed new railing everywhere. Our team also built a five-window zip tent to extend the cabin for socialising and dining in the evenings.”

The Premium Restoration Team paid attention to all the little details to create the desired luxury feel on the vessel:

“We installed a stitched leather steering wheel and seat upholstery similar to what you’ll find in a Bentley. A twin Simrad screen in the dash. All the upholstery in the interior was redone after we reshaped the boat’s lines to make it more modern.”

Introducing Blue Sapphire

The original 4000 has been popular for a reason - it’s a great vessel - and the renovation brought the best out of it:

“Look, it’s just a beautiful boat. It rides so smooth and looks so good on the water. It really is the ultimate mini-launch. But after this renovation it was at a whole new level.”

The team finished the boat by naming it after the captain’s favourite tipple:

“He’s a gin lover so it’s called Bombay Sapphire. We used a similar font to the gin bottle but added negative detail, shadowing and striplighting for added impact. 

We finished it off by printing ‘Queenstown’ underneath the name, like all the big launches do. It looks class”.

When the client sent two friends to check out the vessel as it was shipped down to Queenstown Tim seemed a little sad to see it go:

“I’ve been on some cool boats but this one is well up there. Every single surface is luxury, it’s such an incredible space. When we finally saw it off I left a bottle of Scapegrace Gold gin in the boat for the owners to enjoy.”

Since the boat was finished and word got out about the quality of its finish, Tim’s phone has been ringing off the hook and he’s now confirmed three more Rayglass 4000 refurbishments. He reckons the vessel was a huge job but it was well worth it:

“It’s been a massive undertaking but I loved every second of it. We all just thought if we could build the ultimate 4000, what would it look like? And then we made it happen.” 

“There’s so much work that’s gone into this boat, it really is a credit to the team of talented people here at Rayglass Premium Restoration.”

 

Are you keen to give your old boat a new lease on life? Get in touch with Rayglass’ Premium Restoration Team to get started.