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PS Enterprise- question for australian members

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Ned Feary:
Hi PDs

Somewhere I heard that you can't go on the Enterprise (on Lake Burley Griffin in Canberra) while it is in steam. Is this true?

If it is true then that is just a waste of a good paddle boat,and we will cross Canberra off our list for our next holiday!

Ned

michael:
Yeah that is true, had some mates up there in Januray while she was in steam, they even owned paddlesteamers and still they weren't allowed on. She's locked up over the colder months, while i was there i managed to talk the manager into letting me onboard. And even such she is very pretty to see, she never painted properly, the engine is all out of elignment, and the boiler it only rated to 50psi so she only travels slowly. A sad fate to a great little boat, she should have stayed at Echuca!

Ned Feary:
Yeah you are right Michael she should have stayed at Echuca and it is where she/he was built.

Ned

paddlesteamerman1:
I was working at the Port of Echuca on the weekend just gone, and a couple came through the Sawmill Steam Display that happened to be deckies on the Enterprise, and said that she only is static, but for her 130th (I think) she will be taking a day of passengers.
They said that they can not take passengers because there are no facilities on board, and because it is owned by the Australian National Museum and represents a time (which was 1910 and the Enterprise's tug boat design) they cant change it to add seating or toilets.
Also, she was stuck on a sand bar and took 1 and a half weeks to winch get off.

Roderick Smith:
I had a look at the photo of PS Enterprise in steam on Sat.18.2.06, on a display day for a Friends of the Museum event (taken for Alistair's book, and not posted to Paddleducks).  I had thought that the friends (who raise money for the museum and the preservation of the boat) were aboard: not so.
There are four people visible aboard: the captain, two deckies; the fourth may be the engineer standing on the back deck, or may be another deckie (with the engineer being a fifth).
This could be an insurance issue.
The boat does have handrails, one of the requirements for commercial survey.
There are/were other club-operated paddlesteamers which do/did not meet the requirements for commercial survey, but which can/could carry club members (eg the former replica PS Mary Ann).
I had thought that if any group could be aboard legitimately, members of Friends of National Museum of Australia would qualify: apparently not so.

Regards,
Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

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