Southerly 57 RS Buyer's Guide
Shopping the brokerage market for a Southerly 57 RS means weighing a distinctive British-built variable-draft flagship against the realities of a semicustom, highly optioned 58-foot cruiser. These are boats that can be sailed shorthanded across an ocean and then parked within wading distance of a beach, but the used examples reflect wide owner choice in layout and equipment. Ex-charter examples are common, and owner three-cabin layouts are the more common on the used market, though both are available.
Layouts on the Used Market
The 57 RS was offered with three different interior layouts, and the used fleet shows this flexibility plainly. Owner-operator couples with coastal aspirations will probably have traded the dinghy garage for the splendid aft master suite, while those with professional crew or frequent guests will find the three-cabin layout more to their liking; the combination of the dinghy garage and four real sea berths in the four-cabin layout will appeal to owners dreaming of long offshore passages. Regardless of plan, the raised seating area over the keel box lets a party of 10 see out the large ports, and the galley has room for four people to work with space for a dishwasher and trash compactor. A commodious nav station sits to port at the base of the companionway, with a head and wet locker to starboard.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
On the used market, Southerly 57 RS examples commonly carry a bimini, watermaker, self-tacking jib, asymmetric spinnaker, swim platform, solar, lithium batteries, code zero, chartplotter, furling main, life raft, autopilot, AIS, teak decks, dinghy davits, electric winches, bow thruster, gennaker, and air conditioning. Many also offer heating, inverter, freezer, washing machine, cockpit shower, and Starlink. Less commonly seen are a dodger, radar, and short-handed setup, which tend to be owner upgrades rather than standard. The boat's design already includes dorades for heavy-weather ventilation and an optional dinghy garage for proper offshore stowage, and the 990-square-foot mainsail was available with in-mast or in-boom furling.
What to Inspect
Documented known issues center on the bow and the bespoke systems. The bow platform felt a bit crowded to one reviewer, who also felt it would be difficult to fit two anchors up there, so check chain locker capacity and anchor handling space. The systems throughout the test boat were found to be complex and access tight in some areas; Northshore attributed this to a high level of customer customization, meaning a used boat's installed equipment should be inventoried carefully and access panels verified. The choppy, up-and-down traffic flow between galley, saloon, companionway, and cockpit is a design characteristic worth evaluating for your own movement patterns aboard.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
The typical markets for the Southerly 57 RS are the United States and Australia. For a buyer, the short checklist is: confirm which of the three layouts is fitted and whether a dinghy garage is present; verify the hydraulic retractable keel, twin canted rudders, and centerline skeg condition; inspect bow anchor provisioning against the noted crowding; and budget for learning a complex, customized systems suite.
Price & volume trends
Monthly asking-price and listing-volume trends for the Southerly 57 RS. The line shows the median ask each month; the bars show how many listings appeared.
Monthly breakdown · 4 rows
| Month | Listings | Median ask | Δ vs. last mo. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 25 | 1 | $ 899,000 | — |
| Jan 26 | 3 | $ 649,000 | -27.8% |
| Apr 26 | 1 | $ 549,000 | -15.4% |
| Jun 26 | 4 | $ 849,000 | +54.6% |
Where they're listed
Southerly 57 RS listings appear across 2 countries. United States has the most listings with 8 (88.9%), followed by Australia.
Country view
9 listings · 2 countries| Country | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | $ 849,000 | 8 | 5 | 88.9% |
| Australia | $ 626,489 | 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
2 similar designs| Model | LOA | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hallberg-Rassy 57 | 60.5' | $ 2,579,738 | 21 | 4 |
| Southerly 57 RSYou are here | — | $ 849,000 | 9 | 5 |