Selene 92 Ocean Explorer
The Selene 92 is in Seattle in the heart of Ballard WA. After a few years of this new build being underway in China she finally made her way to the Pacific Northwest. Nobody knows this boat better than Captain David Kane as he has been alongside the boats owners since day one, throughout the entire build process with many trips to China while the boat was under construction in the shipyard.
92 ft of this new Selene are traditional displacement of a yacht hull with a stunning one of a kind yacht modern contemporary yacht exterior. Now that she is in Seattle she has many plans to enjoy the amazing majestic Puget Sound Cruising Ground this summer of 2016. Congratulations to the new 92 Selene owners, lots of exciting adventures ahead.
THE BELOW STORY: was posted live on – July 9, 2015
Salty Dog Boating News has been following and been apart of this 92 build for the past 3 years!
After several delays, the Selene 92 project is finally nearing completion. The final windshield glass is getting installed, the yacht will be pulled out of the shed, and the yacht is approaching the final stages of construction. The Selene 92 has had significant delays in construction, which has been a cause of frustration for those of us that work on behalf of the buyers, as well as Selene enthusiasts waiting to see the next generation of Selene. This is the largest project to be delivered by Jet Tern Marine for the Selene brand, and the inaugural first delivery for the Selene Ocean Explorer series. The professionals involved throughout the Selene 92 construction are clearly proud of their efforts and to be sure, they, as well as the buyers will be very proud to see the Selene 92 finally launch.
For those that may not have been following the progress of the build, the Selene 92 is the Guido de Groot design collaboration with Howard Chen for the Selene Ocean Explorer Series. It features the styling Guido de Groot is well known for blended with the rugged Selene Explorer Series from 78, 92, and 103 feet. The hull tooling is ready for the Selene 78 and there is a hull already laid for the Selene 103 footer.
Joinery Details – These are specified by Guido de Groot and his firm.
This shows the aft port corner of the Main Salon and window box for the side windows.
The Selene 92 is the very first of the series to be launched and is expected to go into the water the second week of August. Powered by twin 475 hp MTU Series 60 diesel engines, the Selene 92 features a 4-stateroom layout with 2 crew cabins aft. The Master Stateroom is centerline with it’s own set of stairs from the Main Salon. Main deck head, large salon with salon doors that open wide, and a raised pilothouse that gives you visibility forward without making you feel like you are on a teeter-totter. It looks like a stable trawler from the front, the back, and the port and starboard sides, and the design and engineering will ensure that it does the new Selene Ocean Explorer Series justice.
As with the original Selene Ocean Trawler series, Selene and Guido de Groot maintained the balance in design with a rugged trawler styled hull that has good sea keeping abilities. This is why Selene posts their hydrostatic data on their brochures – it looks like a boat, acts like a boat, and actually is a stable boat. Underwater, you can see the lines you expect and there are no boxy protrusions to the hull that can cause the rudder-hunt and your autopilot to wear out. On a haul-out, Selene looks like a marine mammal, not a horse that swallowed a refrigerator. Or have the stern of a kayak.
Overhead details – once the overheads go into the boat it will be harder to run new wires for updating equipment, etc. Already wired for a future owner is the alarm specified by MCA for boats wishing to be LY3 Compliant. This manning requirement will sound an alarm if a watch keeper does not reset it periodically. We took to calling it the “sleeping beauty” alarm.
Stability in the aft sections offer better speed ranges while keeping efficiencies at displacement speeds, while also giving Selene owners a stable boat at the dock and while cruising. A lot has been made of sterns of trawlers these days, but in the end, if you see a boat rocking side to side in a marina, imagine what it will do away from the dock. Selene gives you excellent fuel efficiency at 6.5 knots AND up to hull speed, not just lifeboat speeds. Adding more tanks and only advertising the range of a boat isn’t more efficient because it has a longer range, it means you likely burn more and NEED the extra fuel.
As you can see, the Selene 92 maintains the blend of round chines but carries them aft to the stern to reduce squat, improve efficiency, and add waterline length. It is the best of both displacement traits with an efficient range of speeds (than just 6.5 knots) and the buoyancy carried aft to provide stability to the boat and you have the ability for storage and 2 cabins aft of the engine room.
Aft Salon Door Lighting and Structure – This shows the details below the boat deck and above the Main Salon aft deck door. In addition, the track installation of the 3-wide stainless steel door show how all of them will open to push behind the port side and really open up the Main Salon.
Equipment such as hydraulic bow and stern thrusters, wing stations, ABT 440 TRAC stabilizers with at-rest capability, Onan 40 KW Quiet Diesel Series generators with Atlas shorepower conversion, and a serious suite of navigation electronics will round out the vessel. These will be installed at the yard and interior entertainment systems and the other areas of final commissioning will be completed once in the United States.
Additional layers of oversight were built into the Selene 92 with RINA specifications for the structural, materials, and lamination schedules as required by the international body, Registro Italiano Navale, which provides classification services for all types of shipbuilding. The Selene 92 had to go through plan approval for RINA and also the periodic inspections on-site throughout the build. In addition, the buyer also upgraded to MCA with for Cayman Islands MCA. To achieve the LY2 (Large Yacht Code) the Selene 92 had to be Classed by ABS ( American Bureau of Shipping), BV (Bureau Veritas), DNV (Det Norske Veritas), GL (Germanshire Lloyds), LR (Lloyds Register), or RINA. The Caymans Islands Shipping Registry (CISR) and MCA (United Kingdom) are one of the only Flag State authorities to regularly attend yards to certify new yachts. To recap, the Selene 92 is built to RINA specifications and will be issued a MCA Certificate of Compliance or Letter of Compliance.
This process was quite interesting and challenging to go through and my day spent with the Cayman Islands surveyor was informative and interesting. We saw each other the next day over at the IAG Shipyard as he went through yet another MCA survey for the IAG 140 footer and IAG 133 footer. The IAG 140 launched just last month and is headed to the United States for American owners.
Engine Room Insulation details – The installation of rock wool and acoustic tiles to reduce sound attenuation have been completed, inspected by Caymans MCA and approved. There is a specific pattern and design to prevent the spread of fire to follow closely. Quite interesting. It looks a mess here but it a big safety feature.
Behind the Scenes Details: A closer look into the details of the Selene 92 project – input, design review, inspections, and more review. Checklist after checklist, bow to stern.
The thruster systems aboard are provided by American Bow Thruster, ABT. This system ties in the integrated hydraulic service with bow, stern, windlass, as well as the at-rest stabilization for the Selene 92. The stern thruster is designed to run across the stern internally, using a tube similar to what you see for bow thruster applications. We looked at this with a critical eye for the internal structure and also for the best use of the power and how it is directed. I have used internal stern thrusters before, so other than needing to force air out after launching, they work well and are relatively quiet. The tube on the Selene 92 is just below the swim step. The hull of the Selene 92 carries all the way back to the end of the swim step, so there is very little overhang off the transom, which means the stern tube is sufficiently underwater and will not cavitate, as there is little chance of air getting pulled into the thruster wash as the stern thruster runs. This can often happen when thrusters are not installed deep enough in the water.
The bow of the Selene 92 was also looked at closely for both the location of the bow thruster tube and how the anchor chain interacts with the bulbous bow. A clean fall of the anchor is well clear of the bulbous bow and only the most extreme wind and current conflicts would cause the anchor chain to rub on the bulbous bow. We added stainless protection “ribs” to the bulb for this possibility. With pocket anchors, yachts can often “sail” a little bit to and fro as the boat swings on the anchor chain. This is due to the offset of the port or starboard-deployed anchor not being exactly centered off the bow.
Tanks – Below decks are the tanks and their respective bilges. These are clean and organized.
As always, a snubber can be run through the opposite anchor or a center hawser and center the chain under the bow if this was really needed. But with common sense anchoring techniques, few would ever know the difference and I doubt if anyone would go to the extra effort as the Selene 92 is a very solid displacement yacht. Pocket anchors give you the ability to drop two anchors with less conflict if done right. The design was reviewed to ensure that they tucked into the stainless steel anchor pockets to get them to rest solidly once fully lifted. This is important because you don’t want to hang them out in big seas to knock against the hull. This can be annoying and irritating, especially if you are going into a head sea.
Imagine painting your windshield in your car black, taking your car to a highway overpass and driving off it. Repeatedly. Every 8-10 seconds. This is what it feels like in big seas. Now imagine a loud knock on each wave. You already hate the crash of each wave ( and the 3 dimensional ride you get) , now you also add the extra layer of the loud anchor knock that means; someone gets to go out there and tighten that thing up.
So we looked at the pocket anchors on the Selene 92 with this fun experience in mind and decided to ensure that the anchors fit like a glove, settled in nicely when needed, and deployed as smoothly when a gorgeous anchorage looked promising. As a captain, I have had the fun tasks of doing all the really cool things that professional yachting involves, as well as the scary or unsavory tasks as well. So I worked with the Selene 92 owners to offer solutions and ways that we could increase fun, decrease “not-fun”. The way the chain came into the boat and spilled into the anchor locker was reviewed, we physically took lines to the anchor hawsers and I checked the relationship of a chain drop to the bulbous bow. It looks quite good and I can’t wait to see the real task happen soon.
Forward Port Bow Section – The deck has been laid within the hull pattern, then glassed to the structure. Additional FRP was in progress at the time of this photo, as well as the hot tub plumbing and deck drains.
Foredeck Entertainment – There is a hot tub on the foredeck of the Selene 92, something the owners ordered and Jet Tern Marine installed. The base installation, plumbing, drain and fill system, lid interaction with the tub top, inspection doors, and wiring were reviewed time and again. To the point of annoying everyone, I often asked again several times to ensure the safety of foredeck, maintenance needs, and maintaining the RINA and MCA requirements for how the tub drained, how it is calculated in an MCA survey (for stability), and how the tub and surrounding tub frame provided access to pumps, safe steps into the tub, railings, and the lid, as well as shade poles to be installed.
My goal was to plan service and maintenance, the need to replace the tub at some point, and for very big, uncomfortable seas. I planned for the tub to leak, so asked that the VIP have protections for the typical issues that hot tubs on yachts have, as well as the location this hot tub was located. The lid was also reviewed to ensure the tub stayed covered in all conditions. While the loss of the cover was planned, the MCA survey also addressed this additional potential weight in the stability should it somehow not be able to drain in the 3 minutes needed. The Caymans MCA surveyor is from England and quite knowledgeable. It was good to apply worst-case scenarios to bring out the best a yacht can offer.
Engine Room Escape Hatch – This is designed to be tested using the smallest crew member. It has to allow a safe exit from the Engine Room to the Side Deck. The door opening to the side deck allows the crew member to exit under the Main Salon end table and directly onto the side deck. This small area is considered exterior deck and was built to be watertight within the end table box. It was a very interesting challenge to find the right elements to make it all work.
Extended Cruising for Tenders – Another interesting detail aboard the Selene 92 will be the gasoline tank for extended cruising for the tender. It can be filled up on-deck rather than sitting in the water, which can help prevent spills. The owner will put a fiberglass 18 foot tender on the boat deck and RIB tender, which means both can be fueled from this on-board reservoir. The RINA and MCA review required it to be ventilated, including a fan, which has a sensor in the line to sound an alarm if the vent line fan isn’t operating properly. The fuel tank will have a hose and nozzle to fill the tenders, as well as it’s own fill, like the tenders, when the Selene 92 returns to port for fuel.
Details such as the door for the gasoline tank and the structure behind the tank in the flybridge construction were reviewed with the shipyard. Goals were to ensure RINA and MCA approvals on plans, but also through CISR survey. I also asked for the refueling station to be vapor proof so fumes could not travel anywhere but within the tank station itself, the vent line, and no where else. The shipyard built a separate fueling station that is vented outside and access only via the cabinet door on the boat deck. The vent line and where it exited was also review and planned to be outboard and high up so fumes weren’t smelled for those enjoying the flybridge areas. Safety, function, enjoyment, and cost versus benefit were closely looked at for this system as well as so many others aboard the Selene 92.
Galley in progress. One of the workers is continuing the galley cabinets, which are now completed and getting final finishes. New construction of yachts takes a lot of skilled labor and attention to detail. Looking forward to how the final product comes in soon.
Forward thinking – For those that work on yachts as installers, captains and owners that are troubleshooting a system, and future systems going into the boat years later, wiring runs are of great importance. Especially the ability to send a new wire for something like a data cable from the engine room can be made easier with a messenger line. A messenger line is a spare string or wire simply dormant until someone has a need to run a new wire. Attach the new wire to the end you wish to send it and carefully pull this new wire up and through the various paths and turns through bulkheads, within ceilings, and around corners that otherwise might be too hard to access in the future. In August of 2014, I spent several hours wading through the boat in a Tyvek suit and pulling a pair of messenger lines from the aft crew door to the engine room clear to the wheelhouse. I ran 9 sets of messenger lines throughout the boat so that one day I can save someone from an extended series of curses. Once you put up ceiling panels, wood finish, granite, marble, and button everything up, it is a lot harder to find a good run.
As always, I tend to plan for the worst and question and re-question each area or system to make sure what woke me up in the middle of the night was addressed properly. Discussions that took place over plans in the early stages of the boat took place 2 or 3 years ago, so reviewing these with the owner and shipyard can be a test of their patience having to rehash these items.
These are just a few of the details that have been concentrated on during the build process of the Selene 92. Many more details over the construction period were planned, meetings for design review held, inspections made, and once an area was nearing finish cabinetry and stonework, additional review and photos so that future service and installations could occur with less troubleshooting and exploration for routing a new wire. A ship’s library of photos taken throughout the build can provide future owners and captains the ability to quickly access a system.
Convertible Guest Berth. This shows the rollers of the single berth that rests along an inboard bulkhead. This is designed to slide across to create a double berth for couples. Or just someone that wants a nice, big berth to themselves!
We can’t wait for delivery – The Selene 92 will prove to be an excellent new addition to the Selene brand and also the first of the Selene Ocean Explorer Series. Designed to be just under 200 tons, the yacht can run with an MCA Captain holding a 200 ton license. As an MCA captain myself, I encouraged the owner to take the MCA skippers course, which caused him to lose some hair, but gain valuable knowledge, proficiency in both boat handling, safety procedures, charting and navigation, and international requirements for yachts of this distinction. There are NO multiple choice questions on an MCA exam. His years of experience and knowledge qualified him to sit for the MCA license, which he passed and now holds the MCA 200 ton license.
The Selene 92 owner is ready to finally get his new yacht, finish commissioning in Seattle with Yacht Systems Northwest, and get out cruising as he and his family have planned. While I am no longer involved with Selene, I look forward to giving the continued great service these owners deserves so he can finally do the cruising he has been waiting for. Good things, it is said, are worth the wait and the Selene 92 is showing an amazing potential to be something great. The owners have been instrumental in the process and made regular visits to the shipyard throughout the construction of the Selene 92. They will do some cruising and decide if they would like to order a second Selene Ocean Explorer, as originally planned, or go cruising a bit longer before their next new build.
Wide Angle View of the Back of the Pilothouse – This may give you a feel for what the Selene 92 will look like on a walkthrough. It will also show you the path to the galley for a sandwich, the Salon to do an Engine Room check, or the Flybridge for BBQ. Joinery details such as the angle of the lower steps to the Galley create an open feel and maximize the light from the Pilothouse to the Galley and also the Lower Cabins Steps and art feature at the turn of the stairs below.
Contact Captain David Kane for additional information regarding custom yacht building.
