The Selene prices

Let’s cut this grocery business story short, which is, as you’ve understood, all about yacht prices… Why are Selene yachts so well priced, despite belonging to the upper end of the market with their luxury interior, and state-of-the-art engine room and systems? Do we use cheaper raw material per kilo? No, of course not! Do we build with less resin or beams to make petty savings? No, obviously not! Several of our 400 owners would have noticed already… Do we underpay our workers? No, they would all have deserted! 

The Selene way

Like the other boat builders in our league, we only use premium gelcoat, the best fiberglass fabric, marine grade 316 stainless steel and legal timber. Then, you may wonder, how can we be so competitive? Our trump card is the simple fact that we own our shipyard, and its land, in the Pearl River delta. This is our secret. Not so much a secret now, since I just told you! And this is how we reduce drastically our overall expenses. We have also chosen to have an in-house marketing team rather than costly sales offices abroad. We prefer to cooperate with our dealer’s network all over the world and invite our customers to come and see us at the factory to design their boat and place their order. This is the Selene way, and it works well for us.

We also save money because we don’t subcontract any jobs to a third party or partner company. We don’t have to hire land and we own our buildings, and therefore we have plenty of space for the lamination halls, the joinery workshop, the iron shop, the assembly line, our in-house chandlery, etc. We even manufacture our custom-made teak decks.

The Selene spirit

Our second biggest asset is our loyal employees. Most of our engineers, technicians and workers have been with us for fifteen years and even since the happy days of the very first boats exported to Seattle! It would not be uncommon to ask one of our veteran carpenters « do you remember if hull 5307 had a V-berth or an island bed in the forward stateroom? » And most likely, he will recall the layout, the wood essence, and the exact number of overhead lockers! This is the Selene spirit…

No need to be a tycoon to own a Selene!

Although they have a serial number from the moment they are released from the mould, our boats are not mere numbers… They come to life like a unique piece of art. They are handmade jewels, tailored for demanding people who do not necessarily have to be Wall Street tycoons or listed in the top ranks of Forbes to afford one of our beautiful yachts… After a friendly discussion at the shipyard, all the potential owners who come to see us conclude their visit with sparks in their eyes « I was not sure I could own one day such a yacht… But, now I know I can! »

Yes, you too can also buy your Selene… Don’t wait. Time flies… There is no such thing than a custom handmade yacht, at production price…

Howard Chen

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Many « hybrid » boats that can be found in the so-called « trawler » market are semi-displacement boats that can hardly cover 400 NM at cruise speed. And when we mean hybrid, we don’t mean Diesel-electric vessel, we mean boats which look like a trawler, but with the performances of an ordinary cabin-cruiser cruising at 25 knots and loaded with complicated gadgets like swinging transom or expanding coamings aimed at creating an artificial beach and playground at anchor… 

The urban legend…

Unfortunately, if those boats may be very nice weekend or holiday yachts, none of them are really long-range offshore vessels. And never will be. This is why we are sticking to our traditional classic timeless design and philosophy. We will never consider that for a boat that ends up being the home of a couple or family for years, 4 or 500 NM is sufficient range. We will never consider that a yacht can go slow and fast at the same time with the same hull shape and the same systems. This is an urban legend, or at best a marketing ploy… 

Displacement hulls can go far. Semi-displacement hull go fast. But reducing the speed of a semi-displacement hull to displacement speed will not take you as far, and certainly not with the same level of comfort and stability as a proper displacement hull. It’s as simple as that, and it’s a well-known fact that every marine architect will be aware of.

Displacement yacht and fast tender, the perfect couple

This is why at Selene, we invest all our energy in well thought-out displacement vessels which are ready for circumnavigation or coastal cruising without compromising stability or comfort. Throughout the years, Howard Chen has refined hulls which have sailed around the world, crossed the Atlantic and Pacific oceans without any hiccups like « Jade », a Selene 66 Classic Explorer, which has recently sailed from New Zealand to Alaska, and can easily reach 11 knots, making our yachts « Fast Full Displacement » boats. Besides that, all our engines always have proper reserves of power for rough seas and bars crossing, while a good planing tender can complement the « mother ship » for island exploration, or frequent resupply trips to shore…

The magic is under the waterline…

Changing the shape of the superstructure of a yacht is a piece of cake for any yacht designer. Calling a standard motor yacht a trawler because its new superstructure is boxier, and then adding a Portuguese bridge doesn’t turn a common cabin cruiser into a long-range passagemaker! The serious business is under the waterline, in the engine room and the drive train. And in this respect, nothing can replace the experience of a reputable ocean-going yacht builder!

A changing world

Another critical issue is the fuel burn. A full tank of Diesel will probably last a full season on our displacement boats. With a Selene 49 or 54, one can sail from Cannes to Corsica, stay at anchor with the generator running day and night for a week, and eventually still sail to the Balearic islands before heading to Barcelona… No semi-displacement or planing hull can do that without bunkering ten times at the fuel dock! There is no need to have deep pockets to be able to roam the seven seas on a displacement vessel… 400 happy Selene owners understand that. And 400 people cannot be wrong…

We live in a changing world where everything tends to become « greener »; packaging, clothing, cosmetics, wine, motor car engines, airplanes, electrical bicycles and even cotton buds! Major shipping companies are contemplating a project of resurrecting cargo ships equipped with sails to save costs… The carbon footprint of any product has become part of any responsible decision-making process, whether private or governmental. When we know that our planet is at risk, then why would we have a different approach when building or acquiring a pleasure craft? Why should we waste money on fuel when time is free? Why should we jeopardize the legacy of our children for the sake of driving a boat at 40 knots for a couple of hours until the tanks have run out?

Epicurean philosophy

Going places at 9, 12 or even 15 knots leaves plenty of time for dreaming, thinking, listening to music, communicating with our loved ones on board, whereas cooking or reading whilst rushing at 40 knots requires the undivided attention of a jet fighter pilot and brings little benefits, and in many cases is a cause for accidents, collisions, technical failures, or expensive service care…

We at Selene have decided to remain loyal to our legendary classicism and epicurean philosophy… But under the skin of our beautiful ocean-capable vessels, we constantly refine our systems to make our yachts more reliable, greener, easier to maintain, and user-friendly. Meanwhile, solid and reliable improvements are made behind the scenes, and we don’t see the point of advertising fancy innovations that will only last a season, or will be attractive during a boat show, only to be forgotten and useless at sea.

Endurance, Elegance & Perfomance

We have definitely not opted for the fashionable glitz and glamour approach. Howard Chen has opted for endurance, elegance, and performance. The 2019 Selene yachts are better than ever, and quietly keep cutting their wake through the world’s oceans… This is why a Selene will always be a Selene.

The post « Private Exploration Vessels », the Selene philosophy appeared first on Selene Ocean Yachts.

The Selene 66 Classic Explorer, the ultimate passage maker

From New Caledonia, in the Pacific Ocean, his hometown, to Kodiak, Alaska, Joël knows no limits and is not scared of any ocean passage! We, Selene people, are proud of him. He inspires us…

It’s all about freedom…

As he writes: « For me, travelling on my motor yacht means absolute freedom. I go where I want, I leave when I want, and I stay as long as I want… What other means of transportation but a yacht can provide such happiness and independence? Jade is our home from home, with our books and music library, friends and family… »

Don’t miss the latest release of Captain Joël Marc’s travel blog at myjade.fr or read his previous adventures on our website: « Meet Captain Joël Marc« . His website myjade.fr is definitely a gold mine! It’s all in French but his beautiful photos are worth a thousand words… No doubt that you will want a Selene Yacht too after having shared his endless travels!

Photos © Joël Marc 2019

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What is the best ocean capable boat?

Our revamped Selene website has been online for over a year now, and has become incredibly popular with several hundreds of views per day from around the globe, not counting the many inquiries we receive daily about several models of the Selene line. It is usually during those inquiries that the question of Selene vs Nordhavn is raised…

It is not uncommon for a potential client asking in a very simple, and sometimes naive manner, which brand of passage-maker is the best. Most of the time such discussions are brought on the table, it becomes evident that our clients have already shortlisted the two famous brands; Selene, and Nordhavn, which frequently leads us to an odd and awkward question, “be honest, which brand makes the best boats?”

The other best brand

Our answer always remains the same. Nordhavn, is the other best brand. That’s it. We are not competing with the talented Dana Point boat builders, and we doubt they’re trying to compete with us. The gentlemen who founded Nordhavn are regarded with the utmost respect at Selene, and we can only hope the sentiment is mutual. It turns out, there is more than enough room in the yacht market for two quality boat builders, each with their own qualities and talents.

When it comes to dedication and skill for quality, performance, safety, and beauty, both companies are unmatched in the zeal and talent of our marine architects, engineers and workers. Simply seeing the boats of either brand suffices to drive the point home; they are beautiful, and have perfect records, each with their own personality. So, what is the best? A Rolls Royce or a Bentley? When potential buyers insist on knowing which brand makes the best boats, we happily tell them, “go and see our colleagues at Nordhavn and make up your mind. Here or there, you will not be disappointed either way.” Both our vessels are capable of crossing oceans in style, safety, and of course, comfort…

Go now!

An ocean-capable boat is a dream machine, and I doubt any boat builder in our league would dare risk blowing a dream… One important thing to keep in mind is: don’t hesitate for too long! After all, the heart knows what it wants, and instead of spending countless sleepless nights browsing the internet and making tedious comparisons between boats and brands whilst looking for the perfect vessel, remember there is no such thing as a universally perfect boat. Owning a boat, is above all, a love story, and when it comes to yachts, it’s often love at first sight! You didn’t compare your wife or husband to other potentials before tying the knot, did you?

Listen to you heart…

Both our companies have spent fortunes in R&D, training, tank testing, sea trials and sourcing of new technologies. We know our business, and in conclusion, never buy a boat based on other people’s comments or from lengthy online debates regarding the superiority of one brand or the other. It’s not the armchair sailors you want to listen to when it comes to issues of space and accessibility in the engine room, windage in ports, or behaviour in a following sea, but your heart, and your gut. Find a boat you can afford and handle comfortably, raise the anchor, and unfurl your sails… or rather, switch on the engine.

Last but not least, I’m a long-time mariner who cut his teeth in the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean with a few tens of thousands of miles under my belt. I’ve owned both a beautiful Nordhavn and still own a beautiful Selene, and you will never hear me making silly and useless comparisons between two of the finest boat building brands out there. I’d rather go sailing…

Selene Yachts Vice President

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The Chinese Zodiac

The pig is the twelfth of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. Next year of the Pig will be in 2031… According to the myths, the pig was the last to arrive when a popular character famous in the Chinese theology, the Jade Emperor, asked all the animals to visit him in heaven. Legend has it that, just as the emperor was about to call it a day, an oink and squeal were heard from a little pig. The pig was late… He got hungry during the journey to heaven, promptly stopped for a feast, then fell asleep! After the nap, the pig resumed the trip and was named the 12th and last animal of the zodiac cycle!

The natural element of the Pig is water, luckily! And obviously, we Selene people love this friendly pink animal which likes water! The pig is also commonly associated with emotions, and we also like that… We like to create emotions with our beautiful yachts! Happy New Year to all Selene owners and future owners!

The post Selene shipyard celebrates the Year of the Pig appeared first on Selene Ocean Yachts.

Redundancy and safety

This Selene 80 is also a powerful passage maker with a twin Cummins engine configuration, two generators, zero-speed Trac stabilization, and hydraulic windlass and thrusters. The owner wanted the perfect vessel with braces and belt to explore the oceans, and has spared no expense to meet his initial requirements, and the boat was carefully designed by our Selene engineering teams.

In a few weeks, this beautiful Selene will be delivered to her final destination in Asia. We wish the owner safe travels and plenty of catches!

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The Artemis yachts with their sleek and powerful lines are very popular in China. These planing yachts were designed by Howard Chen and Guido de Groot for owners who don’t have ocean passages in sight, and who don’t have enough time for an extended time on board their boat.

Style, speed and luxury

Combining speed, luxury, and the well-known Selene fool-proof construction, this line of yachts is bound for exotic places, and perfect for long weekends and holidays in style.

This innovative and stylish line boasts yachts ranging from the Artemis 43 to 86 feet. The very first in the Artemis line of motor yachts features an open interior layout with two staterooms: a forward queen sized berth and a midship double berth cabin. Both of the staterooms have their own access to ample heads each with an enclosed shower stall, and there is significant room for a comfortable salon that is accessed from the cockpit by a sliding glass door. The Artemis 48 is built to the high standard of any other Selene Yachts. With its twin Yanmar power plant, it takes you in the fast lane, and the boat comes standard with a generator.

With your Artemis line of yachts you will enjoy many years of relaxed and safe cruising…

The post Artemis line of Selene Yachts popular in China appeared first on Selene Ocean Yachts.

Why did you choose the 42 Voyager Sedan?

After having owned several boats, including some of the best ocean-going brands, we were attracted by the classic lines of the Voyager Sedan, but also by the construction quality and more over because of Selene’s unique understanding of their clients’ wishes. We have owned bigger boats over twenty years, even with a crew, and we wanted a compact yacht because our sailing plans have changed. We have no more ocean passages in mind. We told Howard Chen and Candy, the project manager, what we wished, and Selene has built our perfect yacht. Elegant, comfortable and easy to handle for a couple, or even single-handed.

What were your main wishes?

We strongly believe in classic interior, we have seen too many production boats with white oak joinery, bamboo bulkheads or wengé wood lockers doors! Those boats with a trendy design will end up looking like a highway motel. They will be outdated in three years. A yacht interior must be teak or mahogany, with a preference for the timeless Herreshoff style. We know that our Selene will still look classic in twenty years and will not be worn and torn after ten thousand nautical miles with squeaky floors and loose doors. A yacht must not resemble a floating condo with Italian furniture and an arm-long list of electronic gadgets, five-burner cookers, dimmers, wine cooler or TV display on a lift in every stateroom… We strongly believe in Mies Van de Rohe, the famous American Bauhaus architect’s motto « Less is more… » Another thing was critical, we wanted to go far… Many of the so-called modern « trawlers » in the 40 to 50″ range that you can find on the market can barely cover 400 NM… We call that a weekend boat, not a passagemaker… And last but not the least we didn’t design our boat with resale value in mind, because we always buy our boats for us and not for the next owner, but we also know that a Selene will hold its value over the years…

On the technical side, did you ask for anything specific?

The standard Voyager 42 Sedan as per Selene’s design is ready to sail. But beyond that standard package, we have decided to install a gyrostabilizer and a Northern Lights generator without a sound shield. Having had to maintain six generators over twenty years, I understand too well the old saying, « out of sight, out of mind… » Selene has reinforced the sound proofing and the genset sits proudly at the back of the engine room, fully visible and accessible for daily inspection and service!

Did you install any cutting-edge entertainment systems?

No… Of course not! We don’t go sailing for watching CNN or the soccer World Cup… And we don’t want to waste hours fine-tuning the software of a yacht management system controlling the underwater lights and the hi-fi from a smartphone… We have no TV satellite dish or sound system on our boat. But we have asked Howard Chen to design extra bookshelves instead of a Blue Ray CD locker! We also built a desk with a concealed computer screen so that my wife and I can keep working while traveling. We don’t expect to live with landlubbers’ gadgets… People who call « creature’s comfort » a dishwasher, a sound system with twenty loudspeakers throughout and a trash compactor obviously never had to fix all that hardware when it’s broken in a remote Indonesian island! A yacht must be simple. We believe in the KISS philosophy, « Keep It Stupid Simple. » It works well on yachts! Beyond that, it’s a matter of choice…

What did you consider essential when designing your yacht?

Simplicity… By all means. Our plan was not to build a marina queen in order to party at the dock. On the other hand, I have no intention to live 24/7 with my tools box while cruising! And the best way to avoid that is to limit the number of gimmicks. A single good Diesel engine, a robust generator, good batteries, a reliable steering system, a small tender with a 15 HP outboard we can drag on a beach by ourselves, a bullet-proof Force 10 cooker, a fridge and simple electronics, that’s all a crew will ever need! Anything beyond that is unnecessary and will eventually cause problems. We have known owners who don’t like sailing, but who like messing with their boat at the marina, constantly upgrading systems they never use… It’s not my vision.

What would be the salient features of your new Selene?

Elegance, endurance and performance, as Howard Chen says. And Selene sticks to their motto. Our boat is all that. A long range coastal cruiser with first class gear capable of offshore navigation, extremely safe and comfortable to the point it can also be a live aboard vessel.

Where will you sail with your Voyager 42 Sedan?

It doesn’t matter… In Australia, southeast Asia, Japan Inner Sea or the Med, spending time on a boat is always pure magic when the boat is reliable, easy to maintain and comfortable. One of the reasons we wanted a compact yacht is because we may eventually load her on a cargo ship to explore new playing grounds like the Pacific Northwest or Northern European seas… It’s easily doable with a 42′ boat, and at a reasonable price. We want to see our new boat, like the previous ones, as a life enhancer and not as a financial or technical burden. This is why sizing the project, refining the specifications and a sound cooperation with the shipyard is essential, and Selene’s teams were ready to help from day one. We have found our perfect yacht…

The post Interview with the owners of a new Selene 42 Voyager Sedan appeared first on Selene Ocean Yachts.

An impressive factory 

The factory in Zhuhai along the Pearl River delta is impressive. The damage from the 2018 typhoon has been repaired and Howard said that it has allowed him to upgrade parts of the factory and to make improvements. While we were there, we saw three new boats in the water. One was being delivered the next day, a 60 Ocean Explorer will be delivered in a month, and an 80 Classic Explorer is about to be delivered to a European owner. 

We also inspected several of the boats under construction in the factory. The 72 Ocean Explorer which is bound for France was fun to see… It has the new, more modern Guido de Groot exterior, but the owner, who owns a traditional Selene 62 right now, wanted a “classic” interior. 

First class woodworking!

The 60 Explorer that was in the water has the Guido de Groot interior and exterior. It was interesting to see how Howard incorporates the more modern look with less teak and softer, sleeker finishes. We like both looks, Classic and de Groot lines, and it’s nice for potential buyers to have the choice for the same length… 

Many of Selene Yachts’ workers have been with the company for a long time now, and we told Mr. Yang, responsible for woodworking, that his team’s work is second to none. We have seen his high quality work in a 42 Voyager Sedan currently under construction for a European client who lives in Asia and who is a former Nordhavn owner. 

The Selene e-Manual

The Selene multimedia team supervised by Dominic, Howard’s vice president, who is in charge of the company’s international development, has been working to radically improve the Selene Ocean Yachts website and has done some terrific work for eighteen months with media coverage, 3D imaging and animation. His team is also working on an electronic owner’s manual that will come preloaded on an iPad as an option for new owners. We got a sneak preview of this e-manual and hope to be demonstrating it at the Selene Owners Rendezvous in Roche Harbor, Washington starting April 25th 2019. Howard and Dominic have both made a commitment to attend the Rendezvous.

Selene Yachts and the new US tariff

We also discussed the new tariffs with China and have agreed to share the additional 10% tariff 50/50 between Howard and ourselves, the dealer. Hopefully, this tariff will not last or be increased. We have also agreed to a new payment schedule for new boat construction. When the order is placed, 20% will be due and sent to China, the balance of 80% will be due upon shipment. Howard is very upbeat and positive about the future of the Selene Yachts, and so are we. 

Robert Dunlop, owner Selene Yachts NW

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Farther on the oceans

Our yachts will always be hand-made luxury vessels, but we are also exploring new greener technologies like Diesel-electric propulsion, shallow-draft bi-hull explorers and fuel cells power generation for our smallest models, aiming at extended stay at anchor, a lower carbon footprint, silence and less maintenance chores. We are looking forward to bringing you farther on the oceans… But always peacefully and in style. A selene will always be a Selene!

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