Chaguaramas is not a beautiful place. It is busy and industrial. The bay is lined with boat yards and services for the oil industry of Trinidad. You might be wondering: what are we doing here? Well, this is one of the best places in the Caribbean to get boat work done at a reasonable price. Por Dos needed a total cosmetic make-over. She was going to be painted from top to bottom: decks, topsides and bottom. We anticipated for the whole job to take between six and eight weeks (six weeks was our hopeful estimate, especially as part of those six weeks included the Carnival week). We also wanted new cushions and new wood laminate in the saloon.

Mark had researched the different yards and, based on multiple recommendations, choose to go with PowerBoats Yard. As it turned out, this was the right decision: PowerBoats had the best project management team around. They kept on top of things and made sure the work was done well.

We stayed on the hard for eight weeks. It was very hot and humid, but survivable because of the air-conditioner we rented from the boatyard.

The four of us worked hard removing most of the boat hardware at the start of the job, so that the painters could do a proper and thorough paint job. Of course, we had to work equally hard to put the hardware back once the paint job was completed.

After our eight weeks, we had a beautiful Por Dos. We decided to go with Awlgrip Medium Grey color for her topsides and “tummy”, with two charcoal stripes. Black bottom paint and white decks completed the new look. The interior laminate is now maple and much lighter than before. For the cushions, we went with an Ultrasuede material in a French Gray color. Of course, we now have the “new car” syndrome. We are petrified of something marking the decks, or the sides. The first time that a tool fell on deck we all held our breath (Roan notes it was dropped by Mark). It is a lot less relaxing than living in “derelict” Por Dos, but we are all very proud and happy with the change.