Prowler 13 Angler

The Prowler 13 isn't my only kayak but it is my choice for shallow streams or weedy water. It can easily glide over most weeds and has been tough enough to handle rocks, so far.

I've packed it with all the camping gear and supplies for multi-day fishing trips,
I do use many small dry bags and ended up with a stack strapped to the rear well but I did fine.

This is my fourth kayak. All have been used exclusively in Missouri rivers to tour with small amounts of fishing. All were above big box store quality and in the 12-13' range. I am 6'2" and 230lbs. Between my weight and provisions for a week out camping a durable bottom in Missouri's rocky rivers is important. The Prowler is as durable as any boat I have had in the past, it's closest rival in durability being Coba kayak . I see a lot of reviews here talking about the speed of the prowler and I have to say it is the slowest of the four kayaks I have owned. It move easy enough and has a sweet spot where you don't have to work too hard to keep up a good speed. It can be paddled faster but the effort doesn't equal the result and it's better to keep up the steady pace in the sweet spot. I expect some of the other reviewers might be sharing their experience with a near empty kayak We go out a week at a time. We pack as light as we can but a weeks food, tent, footprint, first aid sleeping bag, tools and other odds and ends take up three dry bags and a 7 gallon bucket and most everything except the bucket fits below deck in what has been dry storage for me. The Prowler tracks well under power but seems to cross up while coasting more than the other Kayaks I have owned. Not really a problem as it takes a minimum forward movement to keep it on track. The prowler is the safest of all the others too. I have had it on the Missouri and Mississippi rivers and appreciate the security of a kayak this hard to turn over. Even in the tight turns and surprises of the upper Gasconade river where you can find yourself swept into root wads, wood piles and strainers in tight turns and fast water I have found if you sit up straight you will remain on top. A little more effort is needed to power and this boat out jam in a hurry but it is better than my old Perception but not as nimble as the Cobra or Mad River hybrid.It is a lot more boat than they are. The Prowler is the easiest to get in and out of and even a big person can flop their legs over the side and access things behind them without fear of flipping. Not the least bit iffy. As others have mentioned, the seat did not agree with me. I had kept the seat from my early Cobra and moved it to all boats but after 10-12 years it had gotten to the point of no repair. Younger people may not mind the factory seat but a good seat is one of the best investments you will ever make. 100-150 dollars well spent The places where the Prowler out shines the boats from my past make it my favorite of those I have owned. It is a solid all around performer with a quality build and stability of a barge. These observations are based on four years of use, three to four 3-5 day outings a year and assorted day trips. A great kayak for what we do.

I did great going up river against the current, but, coming back I lost it twice. Both instances were my fault for not reading the current properly and setting up for a chicane early enough. Thank God I was with someone, as I got pinned against a fallen tree that flipped my yak and dumped me.....I was stuck, but, did manage to right the yak. My buddy threw me a rope and pulled me to shore. The next dump was from hitting a low lying bunch of limbs that wiped me off the yak. I was able to get myself back in, quickly, since I had concern about the snakes! Total trip was about 5 miles. I found out I am NOT 20 years old anymore! This 70 yr. old man was totally wore out from head to toe....my limited amount of remaining hair hurt! After two days of recovery, I'm ready to go again and this next trip will include some fly fishing!

I love my Prowler. I did place some industrial strength Velcro under the seat to keep it from slipping forward. Were it not for that, I would have given it a 10. I guess it is a 10 now, if the Velcro works out!

I kept my old Prowler 13 in my garage but moved on to a Tarpon 100 because it was easier for me to load, especially solo... I recently acquired a C-tug yak cart from the great folks at Austin Kayak. I discovered that when attaching the C-tug cart directly under the seat of my old Prowler 13 the balance was perfect and except in deep soft sand I could literally use two fingers to pull my yak in mud, gravel, uphill or downhill... only soft deep sand required more vigorous pulling power.

My old Prowler 13 is much like other reviewers have stated. It is an ancient battleship that will go through the roughest of water and storms, reasonably quick, very stable and bulletproof. I installed a Crazy Creek yak seat and put a small air cushion on top of that seat... it is as if my Prowler 13 has been resurrected from its garage tomb and is now back in action once more: I had forgotten what a fine overall yak the old Prowler 13 is... and now even with advancing years it is easy to move with the C-tug cart which fits it like a glove and get to and from the water. It is then easy to slide in and out of my Tacoma truck.

I encourage a few readers who are getting a bit older like me to rediscover the merits of the old Prowler 13 yak. As it is only 28 inches wide it is easy to straddle and sit down in while launching compared with what I call Bass Yaks now that are as big and heavy as a Jon Boat.

No lawn chair, no whistles or bells, no TV room or such, just a really rugged old yak that won't break the bank and if you don't look forward to carrying it much get a C-tug cart. Your old Prowler 13 will make you smile once more. Ocean Kayak still makes the ancient Prowler 13 and for good reason. The esoteric will understand.

I had no experience with kayaks- this is my first- I am 65 years old and 6 foot tall 250 pounds- I did not know what to expect so I'll just tell you my observations- the prowler is an all around fishing kayak that does everything good but nothing best- it is like a Swiss Army knife- the Hobie Revo's and PA are the rage with my fishing buddies, but I have had four knee operations and peddling hurts my knees so I am happy with my Prowler- it handles rough water in the Chesapeake Bay and works well in the creeks and rivers-

I have never turtled the Prowler and the more I fish from it the more stable I feel- it isn't as fast as some but isn't slow as others- the hull cuts through swells and boat wakes with ease- I think I made the right choice as I wanted an all around kayak that can do everything- I would have given a 10 if the seat were more comfortable but my butt gets sore after about four hours of fishing-

Get caught in horrible chop and wind and the P13 will bring you home with confidence every time. It has the best secondary stability of any yak I have had experience with and it is tough as nails. I stuffed swimming pool noodles in the gunnels just for added security, but I have yet to get a drop of water in the hull even after horrid weather conditions. Primary stability is also excellent as well. Unless you are out in seas with strong currents, you do not need a rudder to go where you want to go, and the P13 will glide almost forever it seems. I fish the bays of Southwest Louisiana where there is heavy tugboat and barge traffic accompanied by considerable waves and wakes. The P13 handles them as if they were not really there in the first place.

A number of yak fishing colleagues who own far sexier and more recently designed yaks have often sold their modern yaks and purchased a P13 after giving my old P13 a test paddle. I am 63, 200 pounds, fit and love to yak fish: I have a Prowler Big Game which I like as well, but the P13 is easier for me to load by myself. Save for paddling in horrible sea conditions, the P13 is not truly great at any one thing, but it does almost everything else quite well indeed.

The purpose of this very latent P13 review is to share my experience and conclusions with the rapidly growing body of men and women interested in yak fishing, particularly saltwater yak fishing. Install a high end comfortable seat and the P13 is very hard to beat for safety, endurance and price. It will not disappoint.

I've had the Prowler 13 for two years now and alternate it with a composite Valley Nordkapp LV sea kayak, using it mainly for journeying when I get the chance.

Here's how this mini test panned out:
Over a 2.65 mile leg against the tide (not strong), across a hellish choppy and relentlessly windy open stretch of sea, the Prowler made 3 miles per hour. I don't have a rudder, but despite the wind hammering the kayak from an angle, very little correction was needed to keep it on course. The bow cuts through the water with negligible "slap", casting spray aside. Very smooth in fact. Waves coming "broad side" are wet... I wear a wetsuit in this kind of weather.

I pootled about a bit, in and around the local harbour etc taking in the sights, which added a couple more miles, then timed myself back on the 4.2 mile return leg, with the wind and moderate tide on the stern quarter (about 4 o'clock in relation to the kayak). On this course I used a lot of right hand paddle to counteract the slight broaching effect of following waves and wind on a moderate angle. This was good fun, with waves sluicing around, under and over the kayak, and the prowler made its usual "fair weather" progress of 5 miles an hour back in the bay where I started.
And that's it.

Hopefully the above has addressed some questions you might have about the Prowler 13's performance when it starts to get a bit "naughty". It feels very stable and maneuvers amazingly nimbly in this wind strength, tracking very well without a rudder... considering; rewarding a relaxed approach.

In normal conditions, you can paddle the Prowler at 4 –5 miles an hour all day with no need for a rudder. It also maneuvers easily in rockpools and tight spaces, and is a reasonable weight to load on the car single handed... I'm average build.

Compared to the Nordkapp LV, the Prowler 13 is slower as you might expect, being an entirely different kayak, with a little more effort needed to maintain "cruising" speed, but not by much, and easily puts in 20 – 30 mile days. I can't see a longer SOT, such as the Tarpon 160i being much faster. I'm going to try one in the future some time to see though... and a Prowler 4.5 Elite.

With great performance, load capacity, fitness for purpose, price, build quality and all round SOT convenience, the Prowler 13 is in my view, a very capable kayak, that gets you out there, and lets you hop on and off... coves, etc... with ease. A design classic.
I bet it's good for fishing from as well.

I do a lot of angling, as well as a lot of long camping and day trips on Lake Mead, and if any of you have ever been there you know it is always, always rough water. The first time I had my Prowler on the water it was during the weekend when the lake is most busy. I had 10-15 mph wind coupled with 2-3ft chop from both boats and wind. Needless to say I was a bit hesitant, being my first time on this particular yak. After about 15 minutes I knew I was in the right boat for me.

The boat handled the chop with no problems, tracked straight and true, in spite of the strong wind. The boat handled all of my gear, and is relatively fast for a shorter kayak. I felt solid on the Prowler, meaning I didn't feel like I was tipping or unstable at anytime.

I can't express enough how this boat is suited as perfectly for a first time kayaker as it would be for the professional kayak angler. I not only use mine for angling, but also multi day trips, the tank well will fit a 55 liter dry bag, full of stuff very easily with room to spare. The front hatch is another story, I put more stuff in there than I could have ever expected.

This kayak is a great all around kayak for multi use. I am 5'11" and weigh 250 and it has sufficient room for me and all my gear. I would recommend this kayak to anyone looking to buy a Sit on top. Ocean Kayak is head and shoulders above the other sot companies, and makes a far superior product.

One thing I heard with the Prowler was the molded in footwells dig into your calves. I have not experienced this and actually do not think I'd like adjustable footwells because it be awkward to reach down to move them. Second thing you hear is you get wet. It's hot in Alabama so I actually don't mind, but with scupper plugs, you stay dry as a bone. All I do is fish close to where I put in so I don't care about speed and turning radius. I have no frame of reference anyway. But I can tell you the Prowler 13 is a superb fishing platform. I catch more fish (bass mostly) out of my yak in the out-of-the-way creeks and streams than I ever did out of my bass boat.

When I paddle, I do hear the scuppers sucking air and realize it diminishes speed by adding friction. It's a roto-molded design problem. I will say the boats are tuff; I drag them along a wooden dock, use the dock as a boat ramp and am pleased. I paid about 1900 for two boats and two Kevlar paddles. As the other guy said, your feet will stay wet but the paddle itself will soak you from the knees down anyways. I've had them about 3 months and pull them out of the river and have never even rinsed them off. (SALT WATER) as I live in Ft Lauderdale FL, no corrosion and the hulls don't leak in calm water. Will be trying the ocean soon.

Good choice in boat; rugged, carries well and is stable. Fast? NO. Light? No, but maintenance is zero and they can take a beating.

However, the P13 does suffer hull slap with waves of any size, your behind will fall off after a couple of hours on the standard seat, and although it tracks "on a glide" just fine, the bow sways from side to side with each stroke (even taking various stroke techniques into account). I'm thinking a skeg or rudder would be a useful accessory. I want to go the retractable skeg route if possible, just haven't found one for this boat yet. The rudder adds a bunch of "stuff" at too high a price IMHO, and seems as if it might complicate the standard arrangement for foot placement (that is, anyplace you like). Others who have the rudder can weigh in on this.

Oh--while this boat is not excessively heavy, it is a bit awkward for one person to handle when loading/unloading (aren't they all?) I have a sit-in yak that weights just a couple of lbs less, and it too can be a handfull when I move it around alone.

Lastly, I'd recommend the scupper drain plugs for calm water. I weight 195 lbs, and when I pull the plugs out while on the water, water comes into the boat. With ocean waves, I suppose the plugs would actually hold water in the boat, but on calm water they will help keep you dry (dryer actually--as my feet always end up wet from entry/exit and paddle drips). If you buy the plugs, realize that the newer boats take 2 small, 2 medium, and 2 large plugs (you can confirm this at the OK website)

So, would I buy this boat again if I had it to do all over again? You bet---especially if I was big into fishing, or needed to carry a bunch of gear.

I have been guiding out of a Prowler 13 since October and really like it. There's plenty of space in both the front hatch and tankwell. Both the cockpit and tankwell are the same size in the 13 as in the 15. Both kayaks have the same 450lb. weight capacity too.

Though the 13 only weighs two pounds less than the 15 it is much less mass of boat to lift on and off a vehicle when alone as well as easier to store. The kayak was a wedding gift from my husband. He thought it would be more suitable for me to handle by myself than the 15, and it is!

The 13 is stable enough for me to stand up on without the pontoons though I do use those for drifting the flats on windy days. It is seaworthy offshore as well and I won't hesitate to use it off the beach this season for triple digit tarpon. Both kayaks have an angled bow entry along with the built in skeg which minimizes weather cocking and so track tremendously straight when paddling against the tide coupled with wind from the side.

Because of the additional length of the 15, a charter guest who has never paddled before will always be paddling a little faster in the 15 than me by the end of the day.

BTW, the first fish out of the new kayak was a tarpon. I took that as an omen that it was meant to be mine!