Selva Boats

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5teve

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Hi Guys

A friend of mine has been 'offered' a Selva 5.5m Cabin boat with a 80hp Yamaha 2 stroke on the back - as there are very few of them in Aus - I'm trying to find out a bit more about them - how they are built - what sort of speed and sea keeping they have, how they handle the chop / rough. It usage will be for towing up to Shark Bay from Perth (around a 10 hour trip one way) when they go and stay in their place up their. He is ideally looking for a plate aluminium boat (big over here) but the Selva has been offered as a trade for something else he is selling.

Having a quick glance on their website the 5.5m cabin version is not shown - but the 6.1m version is and seems very lightly built for what it is, and max HP being only 115 so 80hp on the 5.5m seems like about the max (but cant find specs)

Typically an Aussie built fibreglass 6.1m would take anything from a 140hp to 250hp 4 stroke or twin 115's so it seems underpowered too.

Any thoughts would be appreciated as we know they are popular in the UK and europe.

Thanks

Steve
 
Hang on, responses on the way.

Selva isn't a huge brand in Scandinavia either and the outboards never managed to build a reputation. As with other southern European makes they focus on the home market, hence more common in Italy.

Company info (2009) here:
http://www.selvamarine.com/loc/en/SelvaMarine_profile_2009.pdf

A simple Google for 'selva boat' returns a lot of pics and videos.

Regarding engine size the rule of thumb is to not fir less than 75-80% of the max. recommended hp if you want it to perform as designed to. Many do not however, if the intended use is inland waterways et al.

You commonly see hp rec. hp to produce a top speed of some 30 knots, but only few 5.5m boats would do that in comfort in a chop.

All IMO :)
 
5teve said:
Typically an Aussie built fibreglass 6.1m would take anything from a 140hp to 250hp
Click to expand...
Well, also here in Italy you can find 6m boats with a single Merc Racing 2.5 EFI...
...we call them F1 powerboats, and they can achieve 150+ mph! :D :cool:

A Selva 5.5 is typically sold in package with a 40hp o/b, the reason being that in IT that is the limit up to which you don't need a license to helm a boat.
And while obviously 40hp are only good enough for sedate cruising speeds with lightish load and clean hull, unless your friend has F1 expectations or wants to fill the boat to the brim, I would think that 80hp is fine.

Ref build quality, sea keeping etc., sorry but I have no first hand experience on these hulls.
Otoh, I don't think there is such thing as an 18' hull which is outstandingly better (or worse) than another, if you see what I mean...

As an aside, Selva is an engine rather than a boat builder, and I believe that Selva-branded boats are actually made by Saver (www.saverimbarcazioni.com) and sold in package with Selva outboards.
 
I don't rate Selva outboards based on the condition and running of my friends 4hp after just a year, although his Selva branded inflatable tender seemed quite well put together. Neither of these read across to Selva branded rigid boats though, because as Mapism says they'll be made by someone else..
 
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