About Us
Selene Yachts Europe are Selene EU dealers, for a yard that has been building ocean-capable trawler yachts since 1998.
Exceptional craftsmanship, ocean-tested
Howard Chen founded Selene in 1998 to build long-range trawler yachts that would hold up to real ocean use without giving up the finish of a custom build. More than 450 Selene yachts are in service today across every ocean.
The yard sits in Zhuhai, China, in a region long known for its craftspeople and woodworking. The facility runs to some 400,000 square feet after a recent expansion, with its own marina and workshops, cranes capable of lifting 125 tonnes, and vacuum-infusion fibreglass moulding.
“The team's dedication to detail and quality craftsmanship is evident at every stage.”
Howard’s famous napkin drawings
Howard Chen read naval architecture at National Cheng Kung University and took a master’s in architecture at Tunghai University, then spent twelve years running shipyards in Taiwan before founding his own — Jet-Tern Marine, in Dongguan, in 1998. Five years later he built the yard at Zhuhai, near Macao, where Selenes are built today.
What the trade knows him for is a willingness most builders do not have: he will cut up a finished mould and make a new one if the change makes the boat safer, drier or more comfortable at sea. Ted Hood, who drew the Archer hulls, is the naval architect he names as his own influence.
And the boats start on napkins. The sketches below are his, from the yard’s own archive — the point at which a hull that did not exist yet became something the drawing office could work from.
1 / 8Howard Chen sketch, drawing 1 of 8
The meaning of Selene
Selene is the Greek goddess of the moon — the light that gets sailors home. The signature design elements follow the same logic: a raised pilothouse, a Portuguese bridge and a spacious bow, arranged so that fuel efficiency, luxury and owner satisfaction stay in balance rather than competing.
Stunning woodwork
Joinery and cabinetry executed by hand, to a standard usually reserved for one-off builds.
Customisable luxury
Layouts, finishes, systems and machinery specified per boat, per owner, per cruising plan.
Long-range efficiency
Full-displacement hulls that turn fuel into distance rather than into speed you will not use.
“Five months cruising the inside passage, 5,000 miles and 650 engine hours — and she has never looked better.”Mark & Roseanne Tilden — Koinonia
A network, not a head office
Selene Yachts Europe is not a single company with one address. It is the working network of active Selene dealers across Europe — the Mediterranean, Greece, the Adriatic and Cyprus — each established in its own waters, with its own premises, service capability and relationships with the yards and marinas that matter locally.
That is deliberate rather than incidental. An owner in Split and an owner in Limassol are dealt with by people already in their region, in their time zone, who know the local formalities and can be alongside the boat quickly. The Adriatic territory is Selene Yachts Adriatic, operated by Stal MAR d.o.o. in Ljubljana, Slovenia — a company that has been supplying, fitting out and servicing vessels and marine systems for decades, and the largest retailer of boats and nautical equipment in the country.
Specification & build
We take you from first conversation to signed specification, then supervise the build with the yard and keep you informed at every stage.
Delivery & commissioning
Shipping, launch, sea trials, systems commissioning and handover — organised and attended by our own people in European waters.
Support for life
Warranty, parts, service and refit work, plus the technical phone call at the awkward hour that every owner eventually needs to make.
The Selene community
Selene owners are an unusually close-knit and unusually generous group. Technical knowledge, marina intelligence and favourite anchorages circulate freely, and the boats get used — you meet other Selenes in remote places far more often than the fleet size would suggest.
Rendezvous events bring owners together each year, and we host and attend gatherings around the European coast. If you are considering a Selene, talking to an owner is usually more useful than talking to us. We are happy to introduce you.
Come and see one
The fastest way to understand a Selene is to stand in the pilothouse of one. Tell us where you are and we will make it happen.