Name/TitleEna - Day Cruiser

About this objectEna has been described as the "most beautiful period vessel in the country, probably the world". And it's a remarkable piece of Australian history and craftsmanship.
After extensive restoration in 1991 Ena was described as a splendour of white and gold, of polished timbers and glittering brasswork. It was built in 1901 by Watty Ford, Berrys Bay, for Sir Thomas Dibbs, Commodore of the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron.
It was designed as a day cruiser for elegant harbour picnics, with ladies' and gentlemen's saloons, a formal dining table and cushioned bunks for a post-prandial nap.
Boat builder Nick Masterman, who carried out much of the restoration work, says it is one of only about 280 steam yachts of that size in the world, built in the "golden age" before World War I.
But in one sense, Ena's history begins much earlier, since the yacht incorporates timbers from HMS Nelson, launched in Britain in 1814, later becoming flagship of the Victorian colonial navy, then a coal hulk.
Ena's designer, Walter Reeks, was responsible for other icons of Sydney Harbour: the steam yacht Boomerang and the Lady Hopetoun (both now with the Sydney Maritime Museum), the Lady Denman (now moored at Huskisson) and all the lady-class ferries. Kelly Stevenson, who also worked on Ena's restoration, regards the 30-metre yacht as Reeks's masterpiece.
During World War I, it was commissioned by the Navy as HMAS Sleuth for patrol duties in Torres Strait. The metal plate to which its three-pounder gun was bolted still sits above the toilet in the forward cabin.
In the 1920s, it was bought by a Sydney businessman, William Longworth, and sailed in Port Stephens but in 1933 its long decline began when it was sold as an apple carrier between Huon and Hobart, Tasmania.
In 1980 Ena was sold as an abalone divers' boat, ending ingloriously the next year when it struck a submerged object and sank in the d'Entrecasteaux Channel off southern Tasmania.
Brought up from the bottom after six weeks, it was in a terrible condition and required $2 million and four years' work to transform the yacht.
Its skylights - beautifully turned timber and acid-etched glass - had disappeared, but sleuthing and luck found one being used as a cubbyhouse in a Sydney backyard.
New brasswork was turned and polished (in some places, gold was used since it was cheaper than constantly cleaning the brass), and huon pine, Tasmanian myrtle, cedar and teak fitted out the interiors, with beech scrubbed to a bleached white for the deck. In the main saloon, a curved settee arcs around an inlaid table.
While the steam boiler is now oil-fired and the coal bunkers hide diesel tanks, Ena can still be driven by coal and the windlass is steam-driven (as is the brass kettle in the galley).
(excepts taken from SMH, 1991, Geraldine O'Brien, Heritage Writer and Graeme Andrews - attached)

MakerWatty Ford - Berry Bay

Maker RoleShipwright

Date Made1902

PeriodEarly 20th century

Formatjpeg

Object TypeCruiser

Subject and Association KeywordsBoat building

Subject and Association KeywordsBoats

Subject and Association KeywordsOyster Industry

Subject and Association KeywordsTimber

Subject and Association KeywordsCruising vessel

Subject and Association KeywordsSteam Engine

Object numberTMA2021.00119

Copyright Licence