MV Destiny is our Selene 60 Ocean Trawler yacht designed for bluewater cruising. She will be our home and mobile working base for the foreseeable future. We spent more than three years designing and building the boat with the Jet Tern Marine shipyard in China and after delivery to Hong Kong, a another few years commissioning and warranty work. Our journey has been full of trials and tribulations (we prefer to call them challenges!) which have called for continual changes to our plans – starting with the global Covid-19 pandemic in 2020-2021 which brought our build project to a halt. The impact to our project was not just delays, but caused some more far reaching issues with a knock-on effect into warranty work .
When we finally finish the repairs and commissioning, we plan to cruise the world, exploring different countries and cultures as we go. Our website will journal our travels and we hope it will also become a technical resource for any boat owner interested in high-tech solutions for a cruising yacht.
Destiny is built to cruise the world which demands technical solutions more normally found on large super-yachts. We have tried to design “mini” systems to fit in a more modestly sized vessel – and a more modest budget! This started as a joint project between us and the shipyard but in the end, most of it was done on our own. With the yard’s limited experience of high tech solutions, we introduced them to new concepts and Ed has worked on the shop-floor alongside their technicians to design, install, commission and test everything. It’s been a learning curve for all concerned.
The yard has been responsible for the “standard” boat and we expected the usual attention to detail in hull manufacture, interior design and layout as well as the standard fitted equipment. Destiny is a fine example of their exceptional carpentry, all made to measure by hand. The customisation of technical systems has been designed by us with installation being done by the yard technical teams. The equipment was procured by us from around the world, supported by the Jet Tern import department for import to China.
Scope of our Project
We will be documenting our rationale and designs on our website and some of the areas we will cover are:
- AC and DC electrical systems – a smart combined system of generators, shore power, solar power, lithium batteries, battery management systems, invertors, chargers and switching. The system is built around VICTRON products capable of operating at different voltages and frequencies in different countries with varying amps for the shore power inputs.
- Marine electronics – a high end NMEA2000 network of navigation and ships management electronics centred on TIMEZERO PC navigation software and MARETRON ships monitoring, with best-in-class sensor devices from Furuno, Digital Yacht, Airmar, B&G among others
- Ships monitoring – a Maretron monitoring system to keep close tabs on all machinery and equipment on-board to make sure all is in good working order and running as it should. The system includes monitoring of tank levels, engine and generator performance, fuel systems, fire and CO alarms, bilge pumps, temperatures, weather and navigation data
- CCTV – a network of cameras for operational safety – monitoring equipment and remote boat locations, security on-board and to aid navigation both day and night
- Audio Visual network – combining entertainment and glass-bridge for navigation using matrix switching to display data or TV entertainment in any location on the boat, together with centralised music and videos, satellite TV and streamed TV
- Communications network – local area data network with mobile internet, VHF, Starlink satellite internet, VoIP telephone systems. The network also supports remote access to all of the boat’s navigation and monitoring systems
- Remote control – using the open source software HOME ASSISTANT – we have developed our own home management system and translated that to the marine environment. This system allows us to control critical systems on the boat – as well as the day-to-day lights, electrical supply and water supply – from a phone or other device. Built to supplement the normal manual systems, it adds safety and convenience features to all our boat systems
- Hydraulic systems – with ABT Trac stablisation including zero-speed, PTO get-home system, bow and stern thrusters and hydraulic crane
- Air conditioning and heating – for live-aboard comfort in the tropics and the poles! A combination system from WEBASTO and KABOLA for chilled water air-conditioning and diesel fired central heating working together with the addition of under-floor heating from MAVE
- Water systems – own design of custom water-makers, upgraded pumps for water circulation, anchor wash, waste water tank cleaning, high pressure shower systems, jet-wash on decks, city water hook-up for marinas
- Custom-made mattresses and bed linens imported from Europe thanks to SHIP SHAPE BEDDING
- Anti-fouling treatments for the hull with a combination of COPPERCOAT anti-fouling paint for the hull, ARMOSIL for the moving parts and an ultra-sonic system to boost performance
- Tonnes of custom home improvements – additional cabinets, storage solutions, hatch cover for cockpit, canvas additions ……
Why not follow one of our social media channels or subscribe to our website or YouTube? We are just launching all our channels and will be documenting our journey around the world. We’re just putting together our passage plan – first stop Southeast Asia ….
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