Overview  Prime Time is a 2003 Selene 53 Ocean Trawler. She was manufactured in China by Jet-Tern Marine and commissioned by Marlow Marine on Snead Island, FL (at that time a Selene dealer). This is an AWESOME boat capable of cruising ...in safety and comfort...anywhere in the world. She carries 960 gallons of fuel...and has a range of ~2000 nautical miles.
We have the two stateroom interior lower-level configuration. Stairs down from the Pilothouse lead to this level. Both staterooms have private heads with VacuFlush toilets, Corian countertops, showers, and ample storage. Access to the engine room is through a bulkhead door in the master shower. A large VIP Stateroom is forward...steps up both sides lead to a queen-size bed. The stateroom plenty of drawers, cabinets, bookshelves, and hanging lockers. There's a 20" Sharp Aquos LCD television and stereo speakers installed here. Prime Time's guests are VERY comfortable...maybe TOO comfortable! We really like our Master Stateroom! It's aft and has a centerline queen-size bed. Plenty of built-in drawers, hanging lockers, and other storage spaces make it very livable. We also have a Sharp 20" Aquos LCD television, Sony CD/DVD player, and stereo speakers installed. Instead of a third (small) stateroom, we have a functional office in the Master Stateroom suite with bookshelves, desk and chair, safe, and a settee/pull-out bunk. As nice as she was when we purchased her, there have been...and will continue to be...boat projects that we undertake to improve our lives on Prime Time! Our quest of a simple life doesn't equate to a minimalist approach to cruising. We want Prime Time to be as comfortable and safe as possible. We've created a Prime Time Projects page to show some of these improvements/upgrades. Wherever possible I've included some "before and after" photos. Please take a look at the Selene 53 Ocean Trawler web page for more general information about these GREAT boats.  Cummins Marine Engines
We generally run the twin Cummins Marine 220 diesel engines at 8-10 kts @ 1800 rpm. Our total fuel burn is ~5.3 gph (including generator). We are more than happy to cruise at these speeds...for many reasons. I'm also pleased that Prime Time has twin engines. It was at the TOP of our requirements list when we were looking for a boat. Single vs. Twin engines is always a controversial topic. My philosophy is simple...if one engine is good...two are better!  Westerbeke Generator
Prime Time has a Westerbeke 12.5 kw generator installed in the engine room just aft of the engines. The generator burns a little over 1 gph when running. We have a very effective sound insulating cover over this unit. It's been very reliable and easy to service.  Naiad Stabilizers
Naiad 252-6 Fin Stabilizers help make Prime Time a very comfortable cruising vessel. They are managed with the MaxSea II controller. The ONLY rock and roll we want on Prime Time comes out of the stereo!  Matrix Watermaker
We have an Emerald Series 1200 gpd Matrix watermaker installed in the lazzerette (port side). This huge output allows us to...more-or-less...never worry about running out of fresh water! Water in the Bahamas cost at least 50¢ a gallon...and who knows about the quality...maybe good maybe not...  Boston Whaler
Prime Time has an 11" Boston Whaler equipped with a 20 hp Honda 4 stroke engine. While the engine is new, the hull is a 1988 model with a steering console. We were tempted to replace the Whaler with a RIB, but will wait until we see how it works as our tender while cruising. She's a nice little boat...and still looks great! It's stored up on the flybridge, and is launched/recovered with a 600 kg Aritex hydraulic davit. This davit is mounted on the port side and is a BRUTE! It easily handles the Whaler. Some Selene's come with a mast/boom configuration...I prefer the davit. Marine Navigation Electronics... One of the things that really got my attention when we were looking at Prime Time was the fantastic marine electronics package. The previous owner spared NO expense and HWH Electronics in St. Pete Beach, FL did the most professional installation I've ever seen on ANY boat! My plan is to stop by HWH Electronics when we leave Kemah in December. These technologies transfer so fast that I've got several upgrades and new "toys" in mind. Here's what we have as of September 2006;  Furuno
- RD-30 Digital Depth Display
- 23DT-LMSE High Performance Depth/Temperature
- GP-37 DGPS/WAAS/GPS Receiver
- 1953C/NT 10.4"Color LCD Radar/Plotter Display
- 12kw 72nm 6" Open Array Radar Antenna
- (2) GP 1900C/NT 10.4" GPS/Plotter (Pilothouse & Flybridge)
- LS6100 Mono LCD 300W Sounder (Boston Whaler)
 Simrad
- (2) AP20 Auto Pilot (Pilothouse & Flybridge)
 ICOM
- (2) M-602 DSC VHF Radio
- (4) HM-127 Command Microphone/Intercom (Pilothouse, Flybridge, and Master Stateroom)
- M-802 SSB Radio
- M-72 Handheld VHF Radio
 VEI
- (3) 12" Sunlight Brite Flat Screen Monitors (Pilothouse & Flybridge)
- Rackmount Marine Computer
Prime Time runs Nobeltec software on the VEI computer and uses C-MAP cartridges with the Furuno NavNet instruments. Each system has some features that I prefer over the other. Bottom line...they're both very good navigational software.  
More Goodies...    
    
Entertainment Electronics... Prime Time came with a lot of really nice entertainment goodies. These are some of the manufacturers of the equipment on Prime Time today. Ditto on upgrade plans for some of these systems. I'll post log entries as we move forward...    
   
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