Couple of members with redlines, if you search it you'll find the write ups

I have a Southerner 7.5. I bought it second hand off one of the shipwrights there (Drew) but have also had a few chats with Rhys. Both guys are great blokes. If you google the southerner the image you see on the Westy page is the boat I bought. 

Pros:

• big boat for their stated size. Have been on other 7.5's that are significantly smaller
• pretty deep vee so cut through slop pretty well - ride is good and I dont complain about it, but it is an ally. The way I look at is that they make them in Albany and the weather is permanently "average" down there so they are pretty bomb proof
• been out in some pretty horrific conditions and never felt unsafe
• mine was set up fantastically well for what I want from it - good electronics, 560l fuel, etc etc
• welding quality has been commented on by others as being great, although I can't really comment
• they have a good reputation and there are still some really old ones kicking aorund
• trailer is mint

Cons:

• a bit industrial looking (could be a pro and is for me given that all my nice things get trashed). The internals / dash on other southerners look a bit rough in my opinion
• seems to use a bit more fuel than equivalent sized boats. this could be due to the weight, vee or the fact that it is actually a physically bigger boat - I am not sure
• nothing else that isn't personal preference on wanting more/better things 

All in all great boat that's up to 530 hours now without missing a beat. Send me a pm if you want or give me your number and I can chat. Might even be able to get you on it for a look if the stars align. It is south of the river.

Cheers,

Jarrid

 Also worth looking at moda custom boats, I have there 7.6 amd its an awesome hull, more deadrise then most fibreglass boats and built like a tank.

I think all the boats you are looking at are top notch. 

I personally have a 7.5m preston craft and i love it, redline have a very similar design and i think the westies are a tad heavier and deeper vee hence uses a bit more fuel. But may have a better ride in the real ruff stuff.

Think from memory my preston uses about .1 -.2l per km less than Jarrids boat above.

I you do go up to a 7.5m i would def go up to a 300. Always handy to have the extra torque!

Depends on your tow rig too a 7.1m would be a bit lighter than the 7.5m.

These boats are a great size to do longs trips i have had mine at the monties and lots more big trips to come!

Pm me if you have any other questions or want t to have a look!

Cheers

 Thanks for the feedback guy's. Have decided on a 7.1m Westerberg hardtop southerner powered by a 250 Honda or  Suzuki (pending price). 400L fuel, v berth, plumbed toilet for the missus and kids, flooded keel, deck wash, kill tank etc over standard features. Electronics wise furuno 295 with 200B8B & 50BL 2kw transducer and Lowrance hds9 gen3. GME GX700 vhf and Fusion MS-UD650 stereo. Trailers an 3.4T aluminium full skid custom made to suit the hull.

What have I missed? What do you consider to be a must have? 

Cheers!

With your furuno and lowrance pairing, markfish unit would be handy so you can mark position on the 295 and have a waypoint appear on the HDS. Windscreen wipers can be handy with the hardtop as well. Sounds like a sweet set up anyway!

 Markfish is something I never thought of, will have to look into that. Windscreen wipers are going on for sure.

Drink holders along the rail good for holding sinkers (and drinks)

I find an antenna for a mobile phone cradle normally gives me a few more miles coverage which is handy at times.

Built in tackle tray is pretty nice as well, holds the basics.

Dont leave home without your anchor winch.

 Depends what you want to do with it? Sounds like you have general fishing covered but:

If you ever want to do the big trips i would suggest another fuel tank, good accessible spots for 2 engels, a better battery system with solar and seperate house and start isolation with vsd, storage everywhere, longer hardtop with shade, anchor winch, large water tank, underwater lights are always nice !

  what ever you do dont get a razorline (built in perth ) , i bought  a 19 ft c/c from them years ago , with in 6 months i had dramas with it as the deck was cracking up , i contacted razorline and  was told sorry your to far away (i was in karratha ) cant help you with warrenty so i got my fellow work mate in the marine  wksp mario mangaro to have a look and he is gun ali welder he try to fix the cracks and chased them all over the deck , in the end he said i am sory mate this ali is full of salt i just cant fix it with out cuting the whole deck out and replacing  it , contacted razorline they knew who mario was and they basicaly said stiff shit , i sold it on dreamers courner in k town , i saw it on dreamers courner 4 years later for sale , it was a mess paint had peeled of it and had ali cancer every where  

things I have done to mine since I bought it:

- anchor winch

- more shade

- solar panels

- live bait tank (Drew put this on as part of the sale)

- floor covering as the checker plate gets too hot. I got heronair blue matting

- made some removable seating for kids

- made some stretchers for sleeping (as per Vinnies design)

things I still want to do:

- more batteries

- upgrade GPS to touch screen (I have gen 2 HDS 10)

if you are doing deep drop with electrics I would get some hard wired points and sufficient batteries to run it safely. I would also hardwire some USB chargers into the passengers side for phones etc. Give us a yell if you still want to have a look.