Follow us as we build our boat .... through to launch at the end of 2019. We will report from our trips to the factory in China and the ideas we come up with as our plans start to come to life.
The time arrives for our next quarterly factory visit to Selene in China. This is always an exciting time when we will get to see and feel the boat in the flesh! This particular visit was quite difficult for me – we were right in the middle of the due diligence process for selling our […]
September sees Destiny start to look like a real boat! The deck finishes cooking in its mould and towards the end of the month everything is ready to be joined together. The floor section has already been installed inside the hull. The battening and cabling has been getting on well but we need the lid […]
So we have the lower hull – but that’s only half of the boat! The next step in the manufacturing process is to laminate the upper half. This will actually be the middle deck when its finished. For those who haven’t got a clue what lamination means, this is the process of building a very […]
Detailed information on the design and specification of Destiny
Our Selene 60 is a standard mould with bulkheads determining the general layout internally. The standard boat has basic equipment and there is a list of standard factory upgrade options. Beyond that, full customisation is possible for experienced owners who can advise and supervise the yard for all specialist items.
The hull is made of FRP in a sandwich design using infusion techniques - this creates the bare outer shell which became our Selene 6043 Destiny. We considered painting the hull in blue or grey, took the option for the bulbous bown and we increased the capacity of the fuel tanks. Anit-fouling was carried out at the factory.
Machinery and hydraulics is about how you move, control and steer the boat. This includes the John Deere engine as well as Northern Lights generators, bespoke articulated rudder, ABT Trac stabilisers, thrusters and PTO get-home systems. Read about the choices we have made and our rationale in selecting the equipment.
Electrical systems are built around Victron with 24V and 12V DC and 220V AC. We have a lithium battery bank, REC battery management system, smart chargers and inverters managed by Victron Venus GX, upgraded alternator and solar panels. AC is supplied from generators or shore power, regulated by an isolation transformer.
Despite being surrounded by seawater, the systems needed on-board a boat are more complex than you might imagine. There's a water maker for unlimited fresh water supply, grey and black water tanks for waste water holding and a number of macerators and pumps for getting all sorts of water in and out of the boat.
Electronics are critical for safe navigation and for monitoring the complex systems on-board. We have a NMEA2000 network, LAN, entertainment systems, security systems, safety equipment, communications and systems to manage preventative planned maintenance schedules and spare parts inventory on-board.
The design inside and out is pretty much the same as designing a house. Inside there's the layout of the rooms, furniture, air-conditioning and heating, kitchen equipment, bathroom fittings and taps as well as the beds and mattresses. Outside the fly-bridge is our "garden" where we hope to spend most of our time.
The tender on a boat is like the car when you live in a house - it's what you use to get about, do the shopping, take the rubbish to the dump and go for days out. It needs a safe place to park when not being used and in our case a fast engine to satisfy the occasional need for speed. Meet our Highfield dinghy
There is an endless list of equipment and gadgets needed to cruise and manage a boat - anchors, chain, mooring lines, passerelle, docking systems, fuel polishing, winches - on top of the usual household stuff! This section has details of the gear we've had think about, specify, procure and ship - and find space for!
No passage planning done just yet - but here's what's on our plan. We will be starting in the Philippines after launch
Building "Destiny" is not something we can achieve on our own! The boat comes together with many different suppliers of equipment and also with a lot of valued technical support - here are just some of the companies who have been contributing to our project so far. Thanks to them all !