OCV Prowler

I've had my Prowler for 12 years now and have about worn the color off its bottom. I've paddled in many other canoes but there is nothing more stable and dry than my prowler. I'm sorry they stopped making this canoe. I wouldn't sell it for a million... OK maybe a million.

I sold my prowler to a friend a few years ago. It just wasn't for me. I'm more of a round bottom kind of guy. But I will have to say that everyone I paddle with that has one really likes it,and doesn't even want to try anything else. The Prowler has good initial and secondary stability. They ride amazingly dry. I've gone through a big water class 3 rapid first in my Appalachian, paddled solo and taken on a lot of water. Pulled into an eddy to bail out my canoe while waiting for my friends to come down through the same rapid in their Prowler paddled tandem. I figured that they would take on even more water than me. They were laughing and having a good time as the front half of their boat was going airborn off the crest of 3 foot curling waves. They got to the bottom, pulled up next to me, and had hardly taken on a drop!! I guess it's the flat bottom that rides up and over the waves pretty well, along with the recurved bow and stern working to shed water. I have also found that it is a very good boat to put a novice in to shepherd down a river. They feel very stable and secure and I have seen inexperenced paddlers run class 1&2 rapids, and the boat made them look like they knew what they were doing. I've rarely seen a Prowler flip, and when I have was usually when the paddler was really asking for it. Blue Hole was one of the early pioneers of Royalex canoes, and the Prowler was one of their original designs, so you could say it's past the test of time. Blue Hole sold out a couple years ago to a company based in Ontario named Evergreen Canoe company who still makes the Prowler. I'm giving it an 8 because like I said it's just not my type of canoe but I've got several friends that I'm sure would give it a 10. As a novice canoe 10 also.

Outstanding river boat. Very stable for fishing or standing up to view rapids downstream. Will turn 90 degrees in one hard stroke. Plenty of room for camping and can easily handle class II rapids even loaded down with two people and a dog. The front seat is plenty far enough ahead to turn around and run solo also. It does pretty well on a lake, but if you are more into marathon paddling and portage between ponds, you should get something else.

I have lots of boats, and this one is my favorite. I use it (solo with a kneeling thwart) here on Virginia rivers, up to class 3 whitewater. High recurved bow a must, very stable, narrow enough beam for solo paddling, much stiifer than my Daggers; I only wish it had a shallow arch hull rather than flat bottom.