The Selene 53 is one of the most successful yachts of the Selene Ocean Trawler line. It’s a displacement yacht meant for long-range cruising, big for her length and beamy. Her shape below the waterline and single engine is fuel efficient. The big slow-turning prop responds instantly to increases in throttle. Soft chines forward sharpen to hard chines near amidships, and from there to the transom, the run stays flat, much like that of a ship. It sweeps up to let solid water flow to the prop and rudder. A keel of barely discernible drag becoming deeper aft than forward provides directional stability, helps damp roll and protects the prop and rudder during grounding. The Selene 53 has its master stateroom amidships, the area of least pitching, a general design principle for a cruising yacht.

As Bill Parlatore of the prestigious American magazine Passagemaker writes, « Gunkholing Alaska or cruising the Caribbean, the Selene 53 does it with ease. And it has the long legs to cross oceans. »