If you’re a bit of a movie buff or just a sucker for a lighthearted romantic comedy, you might remember the 2008 film “Fool’s Gold”. If you answered ‘yes’, perhaps you wish otherwise. The movie was universally panned by critics for its thin plot – even by romantic comedy standards – and the director’s attempt to cover for its shortfalls with gratuitous shots of Matthew McConaughey’s abdominal muscles and a scantily clad Kate Hudson.

Filmed mostly in Queensland, the stunning natural backdrop was matched by an equally stunning superyacht which featured in the film – the 42-metre tri-deck Keri Lee, which belonged to an English millionaire played by Denis Sutherland.

Whether it’s the result of lacklustre performances from the film’s allstar cast or a captain’s unwavering devotion to his beloved vessel, Captain Michael Gooding believes Keri Lee – named Precious Gem in the movie – stole the limelight from leading lady co-star Kate Hudson.
“When they brought out the movie a few years ago, I remember reading one of the reviews and it said basically the movie is OK, but the boat looks great,” said Gooding.

Like your typical Hollywood starlet, Keri Lee has regularly gone under the knife for some cosmetic surgery, most recently at the Rivergate Shipyard a few months ago in Brisbane. However, this glamourous lady of the silver screen was in for more than just a nip and tuck this time. The three-month project was her most significant refit since launching in Canada in 2004 and involved over 60 individual contractors, 6,000 man hours and 192 individual jobs.

The owner’s busy cruising schedule keeps Keri Lee and her captain on the move constantly, but  it was decided the time was right for some downtime to complete a growing list of jobs, the most significant of which was the re-paint completed by Malouf Marine.
“We looked at different yards and Malouf Marine weren’t the people recommended to us because they hadn’t done job this size previously. But we went with them because they were an up-and coming player and had a point to prove, and they really did a great job,” said Gooding.

Keri Lee’s mechanical and electrical systems also went in for a major overhaul after considerable miles at sea since her owner purchased her a few years ago. The past year saw Keri Lee cruise the Pacific including the Solomon Islands, Tonga, New Caledonia, Fiji, Tahiti and the Cook Islands, and prior to that she cruised to the north-west coast of Australia to the Kimberleys and then north to Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.

So impressed were the owner and captain with the remote and beautiful cruising grounds between Darwin and Broome that plans were forged to return there this year, moving the yacht around the top end for Christmas from its current location in the Whitsunday’s and then on to Indonesia again.

Part of the refit was to better prepare Keri Lee for these remote locations. “In many of the places we have been cruising in the last few years, there’s some access to facilities but really every system needs to have a redundancy. Where it was built in Canada you might have been able to get these parts off the shelf but cruising the Pacific you need to ensure there’s some sort of backup system in place,” explained Gooding.

Both owner and captain were full of praise for the project management conducted by Rivergate Shipyard, as was David Slinger of Malouf Marine, who conducted the repaint. “The facilities at Rivergate are excellent. It was great to work with Steve Fisher who I have known for almost 20 years. I knew with Steve handling the project management the project would be in good shape from the very start,” said Slinger.

According to Rivergate, the major mechanical projects completed at the yard were a  comprehensive engine service undertaken by Yacht Group Australia, headed up by Matt Curtin-Andrews and a service of the exhaust system to meet ABS standards. “Working alongside the owner’s representative Tom Davies has been an extremely pleasurable and successful experience. Scheduling was very tight with so many people involved on such a strict deadline of three months,” said Curtin-Andrews.

The air conditioning was also in for a major overhaul as well as the interior including carpet and the headliner. In fact, the sheer volume of work to be completed in just a three-month period meant that the task of managing the project was more complicated for the yard than usual. Rivergate instituted weekly progress meetings with the owner’s representative and often the owner hinself to update him on the progress of the job and keep everyone on track.

“It was a fantastic project for Rivergate in that everything went to plan and the key there was the communication between the ship and the contractors and ourselves managing the work. It hit deadline and met budget and you put all those things together and it has kept everyone very happy at the end of the day,” said Rivergate operations manager Andrew Cannon.

And the most important endorsement – the owner, who said he believed it to be the best repaint of a superyacht ever conducted in Australia. “The Malouf team led by David Slinger, right from the first day, showed every attribute needed to provide the quality workmanship required to paint a superyacht. They showed the respect needed for managing a superyacht repaint plus the ability to work with and around the team of contractors led admirably by Steve Fisher from Rivergate Marina and Tom Davies my project manager. As the owner I don’t believe you could ask for a better team to paint your yacht.”

Job Statistics
16 weeks in total
Over 60 individuals working on the project
Over 6,000 man hours
192 individual jobs
Shipwright and interior
Custom cabinetry and varnishing throughout
Engineering
Comprehensive service on main engines, generators and exhaust systems
Removal and overhaul of all air handlers, air supply/returns, ducting,
raw water and chiller units
Removal, service and reinstallation of all pumps and machinery
Service water makers
Service hydraulic systems (deck cranes, anchor winch, PTO’s stabilisers)
Removal and overhaul of windlass systems
Remove and replace hot water systems
Modify plumbing throughout pump and engine rooms
Electrical/Electronics
Install seamless transfer system upgrade for generators and atlas system
(generator synchronisation)
Reconfigure AC and DC boards
Remove and replace all external lighting
Modify and add numerous GPO’s and lights throughout interior
Replace all strip lighting throughout vessel
Upholstery
Remove and replace headliner throughout vessel
ABS Survey work
Remove running gear, replace all bearings and seals
Extensive exhaust repairs
Extensive fire pump, piping, fire flap and sprinkler servicing
Tenders
Overhaul both tenders, engines, electrics and upholstery.  Service, repair and paint jet ski’s