Great report in the popping section Travis, well done.
This is a good question, for me being safe is number one going where you did.
I think a large centre cab, 6m+, with good fuel range, an economical motor and a removable cage up front for casting would be ideal.
I like Chuens idea about carpet under the gunwales for holding lures.
Jerry cans are easy to carry but take up room and theres always the worry of holing one of them or spilling fuel. It would be much easier to have all fuel below decks in two tanks with separate fillers and hoses, if you get water into one somehow or lose a filler cap, the other tank should still be good.
Adequate fire extinguishers,(more than 1),are a must!
Two marine cranking batteries, and a separate deep cycle for engels etc.
One of the other guys mentioned life jackets. I really like the inflatible type. I fish some competitions where they must be worn when the boat is on the plane, so we end up leaving them on all day. I have worn one for a 16hr barra casting session in summer and not been bothered by it. On a trip like yours, once you are travelling they would be great insurance for a man overboard. Lets face it, in a heavy swell, if someone falls over, by the time you can get the boat around, they will be outside of the swell you are in and hard to spot. A charter boat I go on, the skipper always tells us to throw stuff overboard that floats if a man goes over and keep doing it till he can turn the boat to follow the floating trail toward them.
On another forum I visit, an American guy stated the rules on his boat for long range trips.
He has inflatible lifejackets with torches and epirbs. If you go on his boat, you either wear them or stay at home.
Oh, and carry spare gas cannisters for the life jackets. One canister is no good if you go over twice!!!
Spares are a must also. Props washers nuts and spilt pins. It is no good if you only take a prop and in the process of changing it you drop the nut into 20m of water!!
By the end of this you should have a great boat!!
My 2 cents,
Ken