The engineer behind the company
KURIJARA Barbados Marine Services is built around one person’s working lifetime in engineering — and the belief that a vessel should be looked at as one machine, not six trades.
Capt. Troy Benn
Forty years of engineering, applied to boats
Capt. Troy Benn came to marine work the long way round — through mechanical, electrical and HVAC engineering, in an international career spent making machinery work in difficult conditions. That grounding is what separates a diagnosis from a guess.
He is a Fellow of the Society of Consulting Marine Engineers & Ship Surveyors (SCMS, founded 1920) and a Fellow of the International Association of Marine Consultants & Surveyors, holds a marine surveying diploma from Lloyd’s Maritime Institute, and sails as an RYA Yachtmaster Ocean, commercially endorsed by the Government of Barbados. He has run boats professionally as well as repaired them, which means a survey report reflects how a vessel is actually used, not only how she measures up against a checklist.
The company works island-wide across Barbados, on everything from private sailing yachts and sportfishers to charter boats and the local fishing fleet — and on the visiting yachts that make Barbados their first Caribbean landfall.
How we work
Four things we will not compromise on
Integrity
If the honest answer is “do not buy that boat” or “that repair is not worth doing”, that is the answer you get.
Diagnosis before parts
We test and trace before anything is replaced. It is faster and it costs you less.
Plain English
Reports and quotes you can actually act on, with urgency made clear.
Guaranteed labour
A six-month guarantee applies to all labour carried out. We stand behind the work.
Qualifications & experience
| Marine surveying | Marine surveying diploma — Lloyd’s Maritime Institute |
|---|---|
| Professional membership | Fellow, Society of Consulting Marine Engineers & Ship Surveyors (FCMS) — founded 1920, an MCA Appointed Certifying Authority |
| Professional membership | Fellow, International Association of Marine Consultants & Surveyors (IAMCS) |
| Command | RYA Yachtmaster Ocean, commercially endorsed by the Government of Barbados |
| Engineering | Forty years in mechanical, electrical and HVAC engineering |
| Engine experience | Cummins, Mercury Marine and Yamaha among others |
| Guarantee | Six months on all labour carried out |
The name
Kurijara means man of boats. It comes from the language of the Arawaks — the first people to settle Barbados, who crossed open ocean in dugout canoes to reach an island lying ninety miles east of everything else, centuries before any European chart of these waters existed.
It seemed the right name for a business built on keeping boats working in the same stretch of water.
Need a surveyor or an engineer on the dock?
Tell us the vessel, the location and the problem. You will get a straight answer on what is involved, what it costs and when we can be there.