Selene Quality

[Maerin]

Originally Posted by Julsburd

Thanks Steve. Your information was nice to hear and it was important to know the end of the model (2008). What is the draft of your boat and do you think that changes with each hull design of the 43's. That is one thing we find interesting about the Selene's is that they are all a little bit different. They are a really nice boat and you confirmed that. Thanks!

We're a full 5 ft draft. Trent-Severn is skinny in spots if you're planning to loop via that route. Water levels were at some of the highest levels in 2017 when we did that route, about 9" lower coming back. We bumped the bottom around Kirkfield both directions, and at the hole in the wall RR bridge. We're stern-heavy due to placement of the water tanks in the laz- relocated fwd on later hulls.


Doors were a weak spot, they switched to Diamond Sea Glaze doors around hull 14? don't quote me on that. Barry N. (4309) has that info. Even the Diamond SG doors can have corrosion issues. Stainless window frames were an option, well worth it!



Happy hunting!

[CaptainSEA]

Originally Posted by Ken E.

Pardon the side drift from Selenes, but in your travels in South East Asia, how would you describe, generally, how safe you felt at your anchorages? Any piracy encountered? Did the locals usually welcome you? Interested in any related commentary.

Hi Ken, no worry for the drift in the forum but take care of the drift while at anchor!!!
Cruising South East Asian waters has been very safe for me, nice anchorages, no piracy at all, I heard that there are some safety issues in some parts of the Philippines but haven’t been there yet so can’t really comment on that. The locals are usually very friendly provided you respect the rules and culture of the country, need to get used to the fisshing fleets in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand since they don’t necessary have all the regulatory navigation lights and few of them have an AIS, so for night navigation, a good radar is very welcome...Should you have more specific needs for information, please do not hesitate to pm me.

[Speciald58]

I have a Selene with a 300+ hp Cummins diesel. <200 hp would be plenty for this 43 ft boat. I asked one of the primaries at the company why the boats have such large engines. She told me that Americans opt for the big engines. My biggest complaints are - no get home power source and the generator is positioned with the after cooler of the engine is unreachable and it is impossible to add a new zinc and service the after cooler.

[Comodave]

Welcome aboard. A lot of boats are like that. Inaccessible things are not uncommon.

[Giggitoni]

I don’t know you specific layout. However, you may be able to install an access point (hatch and cover) directly above your genset on the interior sole(???).

[DDW]

Originally Posted by Comodave

Welcome aboard. A lot of boats are like that. Inaccessible things are not uncommon.

A good federal law would be that before the first boat is delivered, the CEO has to do a complete engine service, and the video of it posted online. This would not be onerous at all for a company that a) had a CEO that knew anything about his product and b) cared at all about the product they ship.

I would not limit the law to boats.

But to be honest, the blame for this sort of thing rests on all of us, the boat buying public, who are typically a lot more likely to ask how many it sleeps, than whether the engine can be serviced.

[PNK]

DDW is right on the money about this issue extending to almost everything. I had almost that exact conversation years ago with the engineers at one of our larger factories, after fielding years of complaints from service people: "did any of you ever try to install one of these?" 100% of the time the answer was "no, that's not our job."
The sad truth is that very few products are designed so that they are easy to service, even though service is what keeps those products running and keeps the brand's good reputation.
PNK

[Comodave]

It looked good on paper…

[mvweebles]

I'd guess this is why second boat owners hire Steve D.

Peter

[La Sirena]

I looked at KK and NH when I bought my Selene 57. To be honest, all 3 would have done the trick, but I'm very satisfied with my Selene. I was looking for a single engine, full displacement long distance trawler. Here is my impression of our Selene after 2.5 years of ownership and about 10K miles traveled from Maine to the Bahamas, living aboard nearly full time and anchoring out almost exclusively.

The layout of the 57 is terrific. It's very similar to a Nordhavn 57, which I consider to be their best boat. 3 stateroom, with midship master and spacious VIP stateroom. It has a fairly low profile, a very well protected prop with large keel that makes it track very well, everything is easy to access (relatively), it is very easy to move around in, handles different sea states very well, is relatively simple and intuitive, has a good selection of high quality components, has amazing woodwork inside (much better than N or KK), has good speed and fuel economy, has good access in the engine room, has a huge lazarette with large freezer, and doesn't consume a huge amount of electricity to operate. It's weight (according to the Selene website) is 102,000 lbs, but I think it is slightly heavier, maybe 110K. And the boat look awesome. One of the best looking boats in the water IMO. We get lots of comments about how good she looks. In comparison the N57 is 122K pounds and 6'-2" draft (according to N website).

The downsides are: the gelcoat is not good. My boat has visible defects in parts of the hull that can be seen from 10-15 feet away. The topside gelcoat is thin in spots, but that may be from prior owner's care. The draft is 6'-6" (the website says 5'-9", but I measured it when it was on pavement and the website is wrong). I need to stoop in the engine room, not stand up. The ER is well laid out and easy to get around, but my back starts to bother me after a while. I do hear creaks when we're in heavy seas that are may be common with other boats, I'm not sure. It may mean Selene needs to isolate the woodwork from the hull a little better.

To answer the OPs question, I think Selene's biggest achilles heel is their gelcoat process. I don't think it's isolated to early Selene's only. I bid on a Selene 59 a few years ago that was in Seattle that had a gelcoat issue. I think that was a 2018 model. It got a lot of interest here on TF. I do believe this is a cosmetic issue only, and not all Selenes have gelcoat issues. So I don't think Selene had good control of the gelcoat process. Maybe they do now, dunno.

My perception of Nordhavn is that their boat designs are all over the map. The 57 is wildly different that the 55. They have a lot of stairs to climb, making movement through the boat slower. The hulls are beefy, and the engine rooms are nicely done.

KKs seem a little dated with the parquet floors and big, turned wood column supporting the galley cabinets. I'm not a big fan of the master stateroom in the bow, and the upward sloping deck. They are efficient through the water, but also a little slower.

Anyway, that's my impression. Yours may be different.

[dannc]

Originally Posted by PNK

...
The sad truth is that very few products are designed so that they are easy to service, even though service is what keeps those products running and keeps the brand's good reputation.
PNK

And I think the other problem is they deliberately design things TO BE hard to service so you have to go back to the dealer.

We had a Honda, that to change a cabin air filter, required viewing a YouTube video. This is something that should be easy to do but they made it difficult on purpose.

Somethings are done to cheapen manufacturing, and thus increase the company's profit, but which make service more difficult than needed. Our clothes washer filter is an example. No easy, quick way to get to the filter. Once you get TO the filter it is easy to clean, but it can take a 1-2 hours to get to the filter AND a special tool.

Later,
Dan

[DDW]

Originally Posted by dannc

And I think the other problem is they deliberately design things TO BE hard to service so you have to go back to the dealer.

I cannot credit the NA/builder with that much competence in this issue. It is simply ignorance or sloth.

I know a couple of very high priced and well regarded NAs, who know very little about boatbuilding or boat maintenance. They draw things that cannot be built or maintained because they are ignorant of those operations. I know well regarded builders who have never cruised extensively and had to repair something in a remote location. Engineers are notorious for this, designing stuff that is difficult to build because they have never built anything. I remember in engineering school senior year and most of the book learning done, there was a "senior project" class, in which you had to propose a product and then build it and make it work. It was a Waterloo moment for a large percentage of the class.

Long ago, when HP was a highly regarded company, if you were hired out of college to work there as a design engineer, your first year would be spent maybe on the manufacturing line, second year in QA and debug, etc. before you got to design anything. This made sure you had first hand knowledge of those issues before a design pencil was placed in your hand.

[Jeff F]

Originally Posted by DDW

But to be honest, the blame for this sort of thing rests on all of us, the boat buying public, who are typically a lot more likely to ask how many it sleeps, than whether the engine can be serviced.

Right. Or whether an aftercooler is really needed on a trawler. Lots of boats get shipped with bigger engines than the builder or designer originally intended.

[Crusty Chief]

I sure do miss the boating life and our Pairadice has been sold again. Hope they take good care of her.

[dannc]

Originally Posted by DDW

....
Long ago, when HP was a highly regarded company, if you were hired out of college to work there as a design engineer, your first year would be spent maybe on the manufacturing line, second year in QA and debug, etc. before you got to design anything. This made sure you had first hand knowledge of those issues before a design pencil was placed in your hand.

Yep. Today, management thinks someone straight out of school is actually competent. It takes a few years, at a minimum, to get people trained to have a chance at doing quality, productive work. I knew other companies that did the same thing as HP where the first position was working support so one had some experience with what Customer's do, how the products DONT work, and how painful this is for the Customer.


Later,
Dan