Rivergate Brisbane hosts refit and repaint of Aquamarina

by Jeni Bone on 27 Dec 2011 In early 2011, Rivergate Marina and Shipyard in Brisbane were commissioned by Monaco based international yacht management firm, Yachting Partners International, to manage a major refit of the 2006 Italian built ISA superyacht MY Aquamarina.

A cornerstone of this refit is the complete recoating of the vessel in state of the art metallic and pearlescent DuPont paint; manufactured in Europe and imported into Australia specifically for MY Aquamarina.

These specialist effect paints are usually reserved for use on high end luxury cars driven by the worlds rich and famous and their application on a superyacht, in Australia, is a first.

'Without doubt this is the most complicated high tech metallic and pearlescent superyacht refinish ever undertaken in Australia' said Andrew Cannon. 'The fact that Rivergate Marina and Shipyard were chosen to manage this work is a testament to Rivergate’s ever increasing reputation in the superyacht industry.'

The state-of-the-art paint shed at Rivergate is around 70m, with plenty of room to accommodate the 48m superyacht.

The technical aspects of the project include use of sophisticated computer technology to measure the characteristics of the paint coatings after every application. Steve Wicks of Superyacht Solutions, the refinishers, explained that if the 'DeltaE' reading – paint colour difference – is greater than 1.0 the colour is not accepted.

When you consider the human eye can only detect 'DeltaE' readings greater than 3.0, you get some understanding of the strict quality assurance protocols that are being followed on the MY Aquamarina project.

This carefully planned refit and refinish is on target and this ‘sparkling jewel’ that is MY Aquamarina, will be redelivered by Rivergate Marina and Shipyard to its discerning owner in March 2012.

More at www.rivergate.com.au