Southerly 49 Buyer's Guide
The Southerly 49 is a 49ft 7in Humphreys-designed bluewater cruiser built by Northshore Yachts with a swing-keel configuration that gives her 2ft 11in of draft raised and 10ft 4in lowered. For a shopper on the brokerage market she represents a serious two-handed-capable passage maker, but the variable draft and distributed electrical system deserve a careful look before any offer.
Layouts on the Used Market
Owner three-cabin layouts are the more common on the used market, but both are available; ex-charter examples are common. The standard arrangement places a forward owner's stateroom with an island double and ensuite head aft of a raised saloon, while twin double staterooms sit under the cockpit with berths that split into singles. A raised saloon with wraparound dinette settees that double as sleeping space lets the boat berth as many as six. The galley is a narrow starboard-side trench along the keel box — workable at anchor, but it forces the cook aside whenever someone passes to the forward cabin.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
Used Southerly 49s commonly carry extensive cruising kits. Power and energy systems frequently include lithium batteries, inverters, solar, wind generators, and watermakers, backed by the boat's digital distributed-power architecture and often a generator and bow thruster. Canvas and sail handling commonly show furling mains, self-tacking jibs, and electric winches, with gennakers and autopilots routinely fitted. Navigation is well covered with chartplotters, AIS, radar, and Starlink commonly seen, while comfort items such as air conditioning, washing machines, and teak decks appear on many boats. Heating and freezer space are often seen rather than universal, and a cockpit shower is in that same tier.
What to Inspect
The swing keel is the heart of the design and the first thing to check: the cast-iron keel pivots on a stainless steel pin and is driven by a hydraulic ram powered by an electric pump anchor, with a manual back-up system and a keel-control display showing deployment. Verify the hydraulics, the pin and pivot area, and that the manual back-up operates. The hand-laid hull is solid below the waterline and foam-cored above with an integral keel box, transverse frames, and longitudinal stringers; multi-axial and unidirectional fabrics sit in high-load areas, and bulkheads are fully bonded to hull and deck with a Plexus-bonded, through-bolted deck flange. Confirm there is no deck joint separation and that the bonded bulkheads are sound.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
These yachts typically appear in Malaysia, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Australia. For a buyer, the short list is: confirm keel hydraulics and manual back-up function, inspect the integral keel box and pivot pin for corrosion or play, check the Plexus deck joint and bonded bulkheads, and verify the digital distributed-power system and battery banks. A three-cabin owner layout with a working swing keel and sound structure is the one to target.
Price & volume trends
Monthly asking-price and listing-volume trends for the Southerly 49. The line shows the median ask each month; the bars show how many listings appeared.
Monthly breakdown · 8 rows
| Month | Listings | Median ask | Δ vs. last mo. |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 25 | 1 | $499,000 | — |
| Sep 25 | 2 | $374,500 | -24.9% |
| Dec 25 | 2 | $345,000 | -7.9% |
| Feb 26 | 1 | $441,143 | +27.9% |
| Mar 26 | 1 | $486,662 | +10.3% |
| Apr 26 | 3 | $441,143 | -9.4% |
| Jul 26 | 1 | $330,000 | -25.2% |
| Aug 26 | 2 | $330,000 | 0.0% |
Where they're listed
Southerly 49 listings appear across 3 countries. United Kingdom has the most listings with 4 (44.4%), followed by Malaysia and Australia.
Country view
9 listings · 3 countries| Country | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | $441,143 | 4 | 0 | 44.4% |
| Malaysia | $330,000 | 4 | 2 | 44.4% |
| Australia | $486,662 | 1 | 0 | 11.1% |
Comparable models
Similar length, displacement, and era. Open a row to compare that model's market page.
Similar boats to compare
10 similar designs| Model | LOA | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Performance Sun Odyssey 49 | 49.16' | $ 166,283 | 96 | 26 |
| Hallberg-Rassy 49 | 49.08' | $ 231,618 | 33 | 2 |
| Hunter 49 | 49.92' | $ 204,500 | 28 | 11 |
| Southerly 420 | 42.19' | $ 553,707 | 18 | 4 |
| Oyster Yachts 49 | 51.83' | $ 383,811 | 15 | 3 |
| Hinckley Sou'wester 42/43 | 42.75' | $ 245,000 | 12 | 7 |
| Southerly 49You are here | — | $ 400,432 | 10 | 3 |
| Southerly 57 RS | 58.14' | $ 849,000 | 9 | 1 |
| Southerly 135 Mk II | 44' | $ 282,942 | 3 | 0 |
| Southerly 480 | 49.15' | $ 790,098 | 2 | 0 |