Mustang 2150 Walkaround - Project Boat

When Mustang Pleasure Boats offered Trailer Boat a 2150 Walkaround Series II as a project boat for 12 months, we didn't have to be asked twice.

The idea was for the Mustang to complement our Savage Mirage 450 project boat. While the Savage is an ideal impoundment, estuary and inshore boat the Mustang will open the doors to many open water locations that we are just dying to fish.

The Mustang has a LOA of 6.97m including bow sprit and swim platform. Beam is 2.44m and deadrise is 18 degree. Standard power is a 210hp 4.3lt EFI MerCruiser sterndrive with Alpha leg. Outboard power is available if required.

Fuel capacity is 225lt and although not fitted to the project boat, a 70lt freshwater tank is an option and in hindsight one we should have included.

The Mustang has a hull only weight of 1,200kg and although we haven't been over a weighbridge yet, we anticipate the dry weight on the trailer to be approximately 2,000kg.

Although we tried to keep the Mustang as close to a standard boat as possible, we have customised it slightly to suit our requirements.

Being the tackle junkies that we are, first thing to do was add more rodholders. We opted for Reelax rod holders, flush-mounting eight in the gunwales around the cockpit and one either side of the anchor well at the bow. We also fitted a set of Reelax outriggers off the targa and Reelax rodholder inserts to the rocket launcher.

We asked Mustang to hinge the transom bait wells so they folded outboard rather than inboard. As they were, the lid would hit any rod you had in the aft-most rodholder. Now you can leave the lid open with a rod in the rodholder. Both bait wells were also plumbed for livebait.

There were two rodholders welded to the bowrail which we had removed. When fishing with spin rods from the bow it was likely that the line would catch on these holders, so they had to go.

We added both forward and midships cleats, just in case we have to tie up at a marina from time to time. The midships cleats are the pop-up variety and were supposed to be bigger but what we got was all that was available in Australia at the time.

We were going to install all the electronics ourselves but decided to get Mustang to fit GME VHF and 27mHz radios. Unfortunately, the 27mHz aerial Mustang fitted is designed for top mount rather than side mount so GME kindly supplied us with a replacement aerial that has since been fitted.

The rest of the electronics are still to come. We intend to fit a Furuno colour sounder, Navman colour chartplotter and possibly a CD player. Fitting the electronics will be the basis of an upcoming feature in Trailer Boat so keep an eye out for that one.

The clears were fitted in Melbourne by Kevin Connor and although the angles between the windscreen and the bimini don't really lend themselves to fitting clears, we are happy with the end result.

A few other options fitted include a padded engine box, porta-potti, compass and saltwater deckwash. The deckwash hose was coiled up in the engine compartment so we fed it through the bottom horizontal rod holder in the starboard side pocket. This way it is in easy reach and the loose hose can't do any damage to the engine.

Our Mustang project boat was completed in October and made it to Melbourne just in time for the Nissan 4x4 and Fishing Expo at the Exhibition Centre.

Because the boat left Mustang's Gold Coast factory in such a hurry to make the Expo a proper pre-delivery and seatrial wasn't carried out and subsequently we have had a few little teething problems. Nothing major but things need to be 100% before going to sea.

Our first trip in the Mustang was actually the Port Phillip Bay Snapper Challenge of which Trailer Boat was presenting sponsor.

After spending the weekend on the Mustang we're very happy with the overall performance of the boat. It handled a choppy Port Phillip Bay headsea with ease and offered a surprisingly dry ride. Stability at rest was excellent and the high coamings provide a feeling of safety while fishing into the night.

The depth of the walkaround is another highlight. No worries about tending the anchor in the dark and going for an unplanned swim.

Two of us slept head to tail on the V-berth while the fishing was quiet and managed to get a few Z's.

The new MerCruiser throttle/gearshift control is excellent and a vast improvement on its predecessor.

As we are still running in the engine top speed has not been measured, however, we anticipate around 65kmh. The MerCruiser is very quiet at low revs and seems a perfect match for the Mustang. The Mustang will plane as slow as 20kmh which will be nice on those really snotty days.

The only thing we're really missing is the sounder and the plotter. It was like driving around with a blindfold on as we searched for a likely spot to fish for snapper. A handheld GPS sufficed but it felt strange dropping an anchor to a bottom of which you have no idea what it looks like.

We did manage to catch a few Port Phillip Bay snapper on our maiden voyage, which I suppose is pretty good considering I had never fished out there before. Look out when we have a sounder, Mr Snapper.

Mustang's custom trailer from Dunbier has handled the job okay to date.We'll report further on brakes and overall set-up after we've logged some miles.

We also intend installing a 'Catch-On' to the trailer so we can do single-handed launch and retrieves with ease.