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ARTICLES

Extract from page fifteen of Yachts Emirates Magazine

BOAT BARGAINS ON AUSTRALIA'S GOLD COAST
Large entourages of UAE people are spending summer holidays on the Gold Coast in Australia, attracted by the cooler climate, similar coastal high-rises, five-star hotels, haute couture and casual shopping, sales of world-class race horses, and other burgeoning business contacts. The city's biggest developer, Sunland, which built GC's distinctive Q1 Tower, is lately involved in substantial Dubai projects, as is Leighton, a leading Australian construction company. The mood has spread to boat buying. The Australian dollar traded at 97 US cents last September, but has dropped dramatically to nearly 60 US cents, due to speculator activity and China 's falling demand for Australian iron ore shipments. That means many bargains are coming on the market, and midsized boats especially are being snapped up.

“This brand new Shoreline X64, for example, is fast, beautifully outfitted, and sells for only US$1.3 million,” said Tony Ross of Ensign Ship Brokers based at Mariner's Cove, almost next door to Palazzo Versace where many UAE visitors stay. “Or in pre-owned sailboats, we have the large 25m cutter-rigged sloop Sirius, very attractively priced at under US$2 million. You could fly into Australia on a direct Emirates Dubai-Brisbane service, and sail the vessel home via Indonesia , Singapore , Malaysia , Phuket , Sri Lanka and maybe Goa or the Seychelles . Motor sailing is the most stable way of travelling at sea, and this vessel, which recently had a US$3 million refit, has two new 220 HP Cummins diesel engines. There are four double staterooms with private en suites, and a huge salon. In fact the present owner would probably offer to go along and help deliver the yacht himself. It could be a wonderfully interesting voyage.” Popular Perry catamarans, and renowned Hershine motor yachts, are among other offerings that may soon fill berths coming “on stream” in the Gulf, and these air-conditioned, shady boats are very sturdy and reliable and are well suited to local water conditions.

Extract from page twenty-seven of the February/March 2009 Trade-A-Boat magazine

BAVARIA JOIN FORCES WITH ENSIGN SHIP BROKERS
Andy Howden and Ralph Hogg of Bavaria Sports Boats said The Spit is fast becoming a one-stop boating location in Sydney with many major Australian and overseas brands represented there.

Howden (below right, right) and Hogg (below right, left) said they recognised an opportunity to grow into the future by joining forces with one of Australia’s largest brokerages, Ensign Ship Brokers (ESB), at the latter’s new premises at Smiths Marine, The Spit (above right). Hogg is the founding owner of North South Yachting until selling it on in 2007 to the present owners, while Howden has come from an engineering background and has been involved with Bavaria in Australia since 2001.

With ESB representing Bavaria in Queensland for more than 12 months a synergy arose with an opportunity to expand the national brokerage network, and give buyers and sellers more choice and better service. With ESB going nationwide the big idea for the company is that customers will now have not just a Sydney office but also the Gold Coast, Gladstone and Townsville staff all working together to best service their needs.

The brokerage said steps have been taken to include other regional offices in NSW, Melbourne and WA in the near future as well. ESB’s new Sydney offices will also be the headquarters for Bavaria Sports Boats Australia. In addition to Bavaria, ESB Sydney will also offer: Luhrs, Shoreline Yachts X collection; Hershine Trawler Yachts, ESB’s own Ensign 50 aft cabin motoryachts, Shark Cat, Waeco products and Club Marine insurance and boating finance.

Page fifty-seven of the Gold Coast Bulletin - Friday July 1, 2005

JUST THE BOAT FOR CRUISING
Until it appeared at this year’s Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show, not many people had heard of the Ensign 50. That’s not surprising as Gold Coast-based Ensign Ship Brokers has only just introduced vessels to Australia.

Built by Uni Shine in China, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Taiwanese builder HerShine Marine, the vessels have been around for some 20 years or more in the United States where they are marketed under the name Jefferson and in Europe where they are known as Sea Otters. HerShine Marine produces a number of craft from top designers around the world up to 120 feet and specialises in custom craft.

Brisbane swimming pool equipment manufacturer, Kerry Gosse wanted a comfortable cruiser on which he could spend the weekend with the family and still be able to do a spot of fishing off Moreton Island. He reckoned the Ensign 50 was just what he was looking for.
Bob Harris, the Seattle-based US designer, has managed to do away with that ‘big hip’ look of some aft cabin cruisers and still maintain good headroom and space in the aft cabin. The flowing lines of the hull give it a sports cruiser look with an aft deck and flybridge. It has all the comfort of a displacement hull and if you want to get home quickly, it will do that too.

The innovation and styling of the bigger craft Uni Shine builds has found its way down to the smaller craft like the Ensign 50 and this, coupled with Australian input from the Ensign team, has produced a very acceptable craft. It is a classic case of the Australian penchant for taking a design from overseas and making it better.

The main saloon is huge with a leather lounge and room for a couple of large lounge chairs. The stylish coffee table has come straight from one of the larger boats out of the factory. There also is a lower helm station if you get caught out in weather like we have been having on the Gold Coast lately.

Another innovation that came as a surprise was the lift-up section on the wooden window support that gives access tot eh wiring and was held in place with a gas strut. The galley, with all the necessary appliances and storage for an extended cruise is set down from the main saloon and there are plenty of cupboards. An innovation is the angled cupboards and drawers under the bench top. And they all have positive catches and wont fall open in a seaway.

The galley could be a little claustrophobic for the cook, but then it is directly opposite a small dining area that seats four people, so it is easy to serve meals. The saloon and galley areas are both finished in warm, hand-sanded, satin teak. There is an alternat three-cabin layout available with the galley up if preferred. The owner’s cabin aft uses the full 15 ft (4.5m) width of the hull and it is very comfortable indeed.
There are his and hers vanity tables, with mirrors, down each side, tables beside the bed with drawers, two comphorwood-lined hanging lockers and of course the bathroom – yes, a bathroom, it comes with a full size bath. The guest cabin up front is not bad either, with an angled double bed and a seat, hanging locker and full headroom. And the whole lot is air-conditioned in four separate zones.
Now let’s step out on to the patio – generally called the aft deck – just the spot for entertaining on a hot night. It comes complete with a fridge and icemaker as standard.

Two glass doors give access to the 400mm-wide side decks and keep the wind from whistling down the sides on to the aft deck when the boat is anchored into the wind. Alternatively, on a balmy night they can be opened to allow the air to flow through. Kerry has also opted for rails on the edge of the boarding platform. They can be removed and stored in position up against the transform.
As an example of the custom fitout the company is prepared to do, the owner of the next boat to come to Australia has asked for the boarding platform to be extended 600mm, so he can sit on it in a deck chair and fish. How is that for relaxation? Kerry has a different approach. He has installed four rod holders in the coamings around the aft deck.
Easy moulded steps lead up to the flybridge with a central helm seat and lounges down either side. It’s also a great place to take it easy. Visibility on the flybridge is good, especially for docking. The helmsman can see down the companionway hatch on the port side and there is a window built into the bulkhead at the back of the starboard lounge, which gives a good view of the starboard aft corner of the boat.
It is an easy boat for two people to crew and with the bow thruster and using the engine controls, docking in tight spots is not a drama as long as it is taken slowly. The boat is fitted with trim tabs, but requires very little bow down – about eight degrees when underway. Put it into a 360-degree turn at 12 knots and it obliges without any loss of speed.

The hull has been designed with a small keel and with buoyancy built into the wide aft section. It is a very stable boat underway and when anchored up. Powered by a couple of Cummins 490Hp QSC diesels and four-bladed props through standard ZF gearboxes, the Ensign 50 has a very easy motion and rises smoothly into a swell. It literally glides along at six knots in a flat sea.
The Ensign 50 cruises nicely at 1900rpm and 12 knots without any vibration and the sound level in the cabin is a very acceptable 70dB-A. Give it a few more revs up to 2200 and the speed jumps up to 16.5 knots and flat out at 2600rpm the speed was recorded in factory tests at 22 knots and the sound level at 79dB-A, which is well below standards for sustained sound levels.
The next Ensign 50 is due to be delivered before the end of the year. It will be fitted with Volvo Penta, 550Hp, D6s and is expected to have a top speed of around 28 knots.

The engine room is a well insulated with at least 65mm of insulation on the hatches. The engine space is also very sophisticated for a boat of this size. The fuel manifold is situation on the forward bulkhead between the two engines and there is an oil changing system that delivers the used oil into a container, saving any spills into the bilges.

Ensign deliver the craft ready to go, with navigation package and a host of other standard features including a 2000 watt inverter package, genset, flybridge bimini with clears and salt and freshwater deck washdown outlets. There is no need to make a trip to the local chandler to buy extras such as safety gear, it is all there.

Ensign also has introduced a 24-hour hotline service to handle all warranty claims or any problems an owner may have with the boat, there is no having to contact individual suppliers if there is a problem. Ensign has the individual’s boat details on computer and will contact the specific supplier and arrange for the item to be fixed wherever the boat is in Australia. An owner can cruise up to the reef or further afield with the knowledge that if there is a problem, one phone call will get it fixed.

And as for Kerry and his family, next stop is the Whitsundays. The Ensign 50 was supplied by Ensign Ship Brokers at Mariner’s Cove. Phone: 5532 1122. The base boat starts at $895,000 and with all the options the price is around $985,000.