The boat's data and history

Selma III was built at Århus Shipyard in 1953. The designer was Schrøder Nielsen, and the hull is made of larch on oak frames with superstructure of mahogany and teak decks. The engine is the original from 1953. The boat is registered in the Danish Association for Older Pleasure Vessels with the number 489, and was awarded in 1986 and 1989 for good conservation.

Selma III was commissioned in 1953 by brothers Knud Fogh Petersen and Henry Fogh Petersen, both of Aarhus. The brothers owned the boat until 1990, when they sold the boat to the Blak family, Riskov. How long this family owned the boat and

whether it was traded several times during the period is unknown, but on June 28, 1998 Jørn Olsen, Hejnsvig, bought the boat from Janne Dahl, Hjortshøj. Jørn Olsen owned the boat until November 1st 2006, when the boat was sold to Jørn Møller and Hanne Krabbenhøft.

I was allowed by Leif Petersen, the son of one of the original owners, to borrow the original logbook so I could scan it. There are records from 1954 to 1989. You can view it in pdf format by clicking on the image.

The brothers, who had the boat built, certainly deserve most of the credit for the boat being in such good condition today - they must have looked after and cared for it meticulously throughout the years. The hull is in very good condition everywhere and it hasn't been changed in any way since it was built.

The boat has suffered somewhat under presumably changing owners up through the 90s, but Jørn Olsen's efforts have saved it from the scrapyard, and the plans is to continue the work.

If you have information, old pictures or know anything about the boat or anyone who has sailed in it, I would love to hear from you at selma@selma3.dk.

The boat has been moored in the harbor of Aarhus for many years, probably in place no. 282.

The old pictures I already have can be seen here.

Boat data:

Length: 9.80 m (32 foot)
Width: 2.54 m
Depth: 0.80 m 

Displacement: 4.5 t

Cruising speed: 7 knots

Top speed: 9 knots

Engine:

Type: Volvo Penta BB43

Fuel: Gasoline

Max. performance: 40 hp at 3000 rpm

Size: 1.42 l

Gear: Volvo Penta type BS with a 2:1 reduction gear

Consumption: Approx. 5 liter per hour at 7 knots (1750-1800 rpm)

I am convinced that this is the last BB43 in normal operation in Denmark. The engine type was more often sold in the seawater cooled version BB41, which, apart from the cooling system and slightly fewer hp, is identical. There are some of them in Sweden, and probably a few in this country as well, but I have not yet seen a working BB43 anywhere, either here or abroad.

The engine is almost identical to the Volvo B4B car engine used in the first Volvo PV444, so it is easy and cheap to get spare parts for it - almost all parts are available.

And if you need a Volvo Penta BB41 / BB43 instruction manual, you can download it here.