Selene 49 Classic Explorer, the Small Selene That Crossed the Pacific

Selene boats in one sentence, and why the 49 matters

Selene boats are heavy, full-displacement trawlers designed by Howard Chen and built in southern China, aimed at owners who intend to cross oceans or at least to cruise as if they might. The company was founded in 1998, delivered its first yacht to the United States in 1999 and says more than 400 Selenes are now cruising worldwide. The Selene 49, sold today as the 49 Classic Explorer, is what the builder calls the flagship of the small Selenes: the largest boat a couple can comfortably run alone before stepping into the 54 and up.

It is also the boat behind one of the most visible small-trawler passages of recent years. In 2026 Nathan and Lindsey of the YouTube channel The 71 Percent completed a roughly 10,000-mile west-to-east Pacific crossing, Australia to British Columbia by way of Fiji, French Polynesia and Hawaii, aboard Ruth Pearl II, a Selene 49 launched in 2024. That is the use case the boat was drawn for.

Chen trained as an architect in Taiwan, and the brand name comes from the Selene memorial his professor designed to mark the Apollo 11 landing. The architectural eye shows in the joinery and in how the interior volumes are arranged.

From Selene 47 to Selene 49, what changed

The 49 is the next-generation evolution of the Selene 47, itself a larger sister of the 43. Selene's description lists the key changes. The hull uses its Deep-Hull design and is deeper than the 47's, to carve through the water rather than ride over it. An 18-inch Cruiser Stern extension lengthens the waterline, adds buoyancy aft to carry a larger flybridge and creates more lazarette storage. Engine room headroom grows by a full foot. The extra length adds 8 inches to the cockpit and 4 inches to the salon.

Selene quotes a displacement-to-length ratio of 316 and an A/B ratio of 2.54 at full load, numbers that put the 49 firmly in the heavy, seakindly end of the trawler spectrum. Layout drawings in Selene's download area are dated February 2015, and the builder noted hull number 42 approaching launch a few years later, so the model has sold steadily for a decade.

Decks, flybridge and the gear that makes it a passagemaker

From outside the 49 looks traditional and salty: a raised pilothouse with a Portuguese bridge, protected side decks and high bulwarks, an integral swim platform with a telescoping ladder, and an aft deck. The flybridge is wider than the 47's, with an L-shaped settee and table plus a bar with sink and grill, under canvas or a hardtop, and room aft for a dinghy and hydraulic crane.

Selene Yachts Americas lists the equipment that defines a current boat: electric stabilizers that work at anchor, electric bow and stern thrusters, a hydraulic davit, chilled-water air conditioning, a Furuno navigation package and a fuel polishing system. Earlier Selenes reviewed by Yachting showed the build approach: vinylester resin in the first laminate layers, cored topsides and superstructure, double-clamped seacocks, dual Racor filtration and a recessed bow thruster.

• Portuguese bridge and protected side decks
• Flybridge with L-settee, bar, sink and grill
• Dinghy and hydraulic crane or davit on the boat deck
• Stabilizers, bow and stern thrusters, fuel polishing

Salon, galley and the two or three stateroom plan

The salon is finished in teak, with an L-shaped dinette for four to port and a U-shaped galley forward with granite counters and a full-size refrigerator and freezer. The pilothouse sits up and forward with the helm, and owners can customize galley configuration, wood finishes and the number of engines when ordering.

Down below, full forward hull sections make the accommodation generous for the length. The master has a queen island berth with teak-and-holly steps on both sides and two cedar-lined hanging lockers. The standard plan has two staterooms and two heads, and a third stateroom is optional, which many liveaboard couples use as an office or workshop. Selene Americas describes the 49 as noticeably roomier than its 46 and easy for an owner to handle alone.

Range math on one John Deere

The standard engine is a single John Deere 6068AFM85 rated 230 hp at 2,300 rpm, a slow-turning, mechanically simple diesel well suited to long passages. Selene's factory sheet quotes a cruise of 8.5 knots at 1,800 rpm with a range of 2,000 nautical miles and a maximum speed around 11 knots. Selene Americas quotes more than 3,000 miles at 7 knots.

The two published spec sets differ in places, so use them as a range. The factory lists LOA at 51 feet 10 inches, 1,300 gallons of fuel and a displacement of 67,240 pounds; Selene Americas lists LOA at 53 feet 11 inches, 1,200 gallons and 68,800 pounds. Both agree on a 46-foot 10-inch waterline, 15-foot 8-inch beam, 5-foot 11-inch draft, 210 gallons of water and an air draft of 14 feet 2 inches with the mast down, which is relevant for the Great Loop, where Selene Americas pitches the boat alongside its 46 and 54.

What a 30-ton trawler costs to keep

Fuel is the smallest line in the budget at displacement speed, but a 52 to 54-foot slip, insurance on a seven-figure yacht, annual haul-outs, stabilizer and thruster service, generator and air conditioning maintenance and engine work add up. Owners who do their own maintenance can keep a Selene 49 for roughly $45,000 a year; those who pay yards for everything and travel widely can spend $90,000 or more.

Selene's dealer network in North America is centered on Selene Yachts Americas, and the factory in Zhuhai, consolidated there from Dongguan in 2017 and 2018, builds all current boats. Ask any seller where and when the boat was built and how it was commissioned, since import commissioning quality varies more than hull quality.

Reading the used Selene 49 market

Used Selene yachts for sale tend to be scarcer than Grand Banks or Nordhavns, and the 49 is popular enough that good examples move quickly. Prices depend on age, single or twin engines, electronics, stabilizers and how far the boat has gone. A boat with a documented ocean crossing can be a positive if maintenance records are complete, and a negative if the owners deferred work.

Selene Americas says Ruth Pearl II will be recommissioned and certified with full warranties when it comes to market. Brokerage listings rarely show public prices, so use a buyer's broker with access to sold data.