Mustang 2150WA

It's a situation that has not been lost on Gold Coast-based manufacturer, Mustang Boats. In fact, it's the 'dollar versus fishable-metre' barrier that Mustang has sought to overcome with its latest trailerable, the 2150WA (Walkaround).

The good news is that with the release of the 2150WA as a $48,000 package including a big horsepower V-six outboard and trailer, it's mission accomplished.

For a start the 2150WA offers a true fishability in a walkaround layout. Indeed, if it's fishing room that you're looking for, then the Mustang has plenty on offer, with generous walkarounds and an aft cockpit that's as roomy as it is uncluttered.

The 2150's self-draining cockpit features secure high sides with padded coamings around the gunwales and across the full width of the transom. You can even get right in close to the gunwales by slipping your feet under the side pockets. For offshore anglers this is a big bonus as it helps you maintain your balance while fishing and enables you to lock yourself securely in position when fighting fish.

The transom has a padded bench seat which folds up into position for seating while travelling or for those pleasure days on the water with a few friends. The beauty of this seat is that when it's time to get serious, it folds flush with the rest of the transom, giving you a larger padded section right across the stern of the boat.

Behind this section is a void where oil bottles, batteries and other items are located. There's also room for a tub and a raised lip on the deck to keep it stowed.

Generous wells in the transom offer additional storage on one side and a livebait tank on the other, while there's rod/gaff/tagpole storage via racks in the side pockets.

Making the most of the underfloor space are long fish boxes located each side of the cockpit. The space down the centre of the floor is occupied by the 220lt fuel tank.

Deck level is constant through into the helm area where the twin pedestal seats are mounted on raised boxes moulded into the lay of the deck area. These raised sections, with storage (inside are ideal for keeping your tools and items of tackle such as your supply of snapper sinkers) also act as steps up to the walkaround section of the boat.

As straight forward as the walkaround section is, the deep trough, for want of a better description, offers anglers exactly what is needed to walk safely around the sides of the cabin and up to the bow section of the boat. For added safety the split bowrail runs rearward to the commencement of the walkarounds.

For the record there's sufficient room at the bow for one angler, though two fishos would make it a tight squeeze. However, when casting for surface-feeding pelagics, they could stand comfortably with one either side of the bow.

At the helm the usual instruments are mounted in front of you. Unlike some other machines in this category, there's little room to flush-mount electronics. Sounders, GPSs, et al, will need to be mounted up on the dash.

Accommodation below is larger than a first glance might suggest. A conventional V-berth is offered (with infill) with generous underbunk storage and potty provision.

Ventilation and light are provided by a large overhead hatch and two smaller windows either side of the cabin.

While nothing flash, the cab is carpeted and lined. Keeping things simple in here is no doubt part of the cost saving incorporated in this boat.

At 6.5m, the 2150 is a substantial trailerboat and as you'd expect, it readily handles rough conditions. I did note, however, that the hull throws up more spray than I would normally expect. Even playing around with the trim didn't reduce this trait as much as I would have liked.

Looking at the hull I expected a much drier ride. The boat has a moderate 18° deadrise, full-length planing strakes and very generous reversed chines.

While you're dry enough at the helm, in our test conditions much of the rest of the boat got a liberal dose of salt spray. That aside, performance is good, with stability impressive as you'd expect from a moderate vee.

One downside of moderate vees is that they can sometimes pound. I'm pleased to say this wasn't the case with the 2150.

Fitted with a 175hp Evinrude, the testboat certainly wasn't lacking power and had no shortage of get up and go. Although a smaller engine could be fitted, those running offshore with any sort of load should stick to the 175. Personally, I would consider 150hp as the minimum horsepower requirement.

With just under 225lt underfloor, even the big engine offers reasonable range. This vessel is also available with a 300lt underfloor fuel tank.

The abovementioned void under the transom will easily accommodate them.

In summary, targeted towards the offshore angler with a limited budget, the Mustang 2150 Walkaround, offers good fishabilty with plenty of room and more than adequate comfort.

You'll find the hull's performance is better than average and boasts 'hidden' safety features like foam-filling.

Mustang's basic package (as tested) includes a 175hp Evinrude outboard, Belco tandem trailer, Hummingbird Optic sounder and GME 27meg radio. At $48,000 we reckon that's terrific value.