SY Ena facts for kids
Ena on display at the Australian National Maritime Museum
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Quick facts for kids History |
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 Australia |
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| Name |
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| Namesake | Tryphena Dibbs, wife of the original owner |
| Builder | WM Ford Boatbuilders, Berrys Bay |
| Cost | A£5,800 |
| Laid down | 1900 |
| Launched | 8 December 1900 |
| Status | Active as of 2017 |
| History | |
 Australia |
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| Name | HMAS Sleuth |
| Commissioned | 13 January 1917 |
| Fate | Sold in early 1920s |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Steam yacht |
| Displacement | 65 tons (gross); 44 tons (net) |
| Length | 88 feet (27 m) (minus bowsprit) |
| Beam | 16.5 feet (5.0 m) |
| Depth | 8.1 feet (2.5 m) |
| Installed power |
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| Propulsion |
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| Armament | QF 3 pounder Hotchkiss gun (RAN service only) |
The Steam Yacht Ena is a beautiful old boat that runs on steam. It was built way back in 1900 for a man named Thomas Dibbs. He was the leader of the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron, a fancy boating club. Mr. Dibbs used Ena as his own private boat to entertain friends on the water in Sydney.
When World War I started, the boat was bought by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) in 1917. They changed its name to HMAS Sleuth and used it as a patrol boat. It helped keep an eye on the waters around the Torres Strait and Thursday Island. Later, it became a training ship in Sydney.
After the war, in the early 1920s, the Navy sold the yacht. It went back to being a private boat. In the 1930s, it was sold again and moved to Tasmania. There, it was used for different jobs, like carrying fruit and fishing. In the mid-1940s, its steam engine was replaced with a diesel engine, and its name changed to Aurore.
In the early 1980s, the boat sank! But it was pulled up from the water and carefully fixed. It was made to look almost exactly like it did when it was first built, and its steam engine was put back. After its restoration, Ena sailed all the way around Australia. It even visited Western Australia during the 1987 America's Cup sailing race. For a while, it was used for private boat trips.
Today, SY Ena is back in Sydney. It's part of the amazing collection at the Australian National Maritime Museum. It's also listed as an important historic boat in Australia.
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Building a Beautiful Yacht
The Ena was built in 1900 because Thomas Dibbs wanted a new, better yacht. He asked Walter Reeks, a talented boat designer from Sydney, to create it. The boat was then built by WM Ford Boatbuilders in Berrys Bay, Sydney. Both the designer and the builders were known for their high-quality work.
People even wrote about Ena's elegance and strong build in an American magazine in 1906. Looking back, Ena shows that Australian designers and builders could create luxury boats just as well as those in Europe or North America during that time.
The Ena was 88 feet (27 m) long (without its front pointy part, called a bowsprit). It was 16.5 feet (5.0 m) wide and 8.1 feet (2.5 m) deep. It weighed 65 tons when fully loaded. Its first engine was a 25-horsepower (19 kW) steam engine. The main part of the boat was made from strong Australian wood. The top parts were made from teak wood. The yacht was launched into the water on December 8, 1900. Just like Mr. Dibbs' previous boat, it was named Ena after his wife, Tryphena. This amazing steam yacht cost A£5,800 to build.
A Warship Called HMAS Sleuth
In January 1917, the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) bought SY Ena for A£1,000. They changed it to be a patrol boat for World War I. They added a small QF 3 pounder Hotchkiss gun to its front deck. On January 13, 1917, the boat officially became HMAS Sleuth.
However, Sleuth wasn't very good for patrol work in the hot, tropical areas. So, it was moved to the coast of Queensland. Later, it went back to Sydney. There, it became a support boat for the training ship Tingira. One of Sleuth's jobs was to take new Navy recruits out to sea. This was to "show them what being seasick felt like" and help them get used to life at sea.
After the war, the Navy sold HMAS Sleuth for A£1,350. It went back to being a boat for fun. It had a few different owners. One owner, William Longworth, often sailed it between Sydney and Newcastle.
In the early 1930s, the boat was sold and moved to Hobart, Tasmania. Its new owner used it to carry apples from Tasmania to the mainland of Australia. But soon after starting this job, the boat was taken by people it owed money to.
In 1940, two brothers, the Roches, bought the boat. They renamed it Aurore. Over the next few years, they changed it to be a fishing boat. They made its front shorter and put in a diesel engine in 1945. They also added places to keep fish, including a cold storage area. The Roches sold Aurore in 1974.
Rescued and Restored
In 1981, Aurore sank in the D'Entrecasteaux Channel after hitting something underwater. But a group of people, including a Sydney businessman, paid to have the boat lifted out of the water. A skilled boat builder named Nick Masterman then restored the wreck. He made it look almost exactly like it did when it was first built. They even found and fixed an 80-horsepower (60 kW) steam engine from an old ferry called Excella. This steam engine replaced the diesel one.
The yacht started sailing again in 1986, back under its original name, Ena. In 1987 and 1988, Ena sailed all the way around Australia. This trip included a visit to Western Australia for the famous 1987 America's Cup sailing race. When it returned to Sydney, Ena was used for private boat trips.
Later, the boat was again taken by people it owed money to. It was sold to new owners in 1991. Ena was seen on the harbour sometimes. In 2014, it moved to Melbourne and operated on the Yarra River and in Port Phillip Bay. In early 2016, it returned to Sydney. A new private owner bought it. In mid-2017, this owner gave Ena to the Australian National Maritime Museum. Now, it's part of their collection of working boats and a national treasure.
