Day 91 - Ocean Kayak 'Prowler 13'

I must admit that as I near the finish line of the 100 boats I'm realizing that through necessity for lessons and such I tended a little more toward touring kayaks and away from sit on tops. So whenever possible I've been jumping on a SOT to make sure they get a fair shake. Tonight for the Thursday Evening Paddle I had pulled the Prowler Trident 15 but when a sizable gentleman requested a SOT for the tour I gave it up and opted for the Prowler 13 instead. It was a rather large group tonight and as things kept stretching out a bit too much we decided to split up into two groups. A faster group would continue on around Vacation Island and the rest of the folks in the slower group would take a shorter route to the Barefoot Bar and paddle wheelers.

The Prowler 13 is pretty fast for a SOT but I was happy to stay with the slower group and not have to work so hard to keep up with the others in touring boats. Tonight I opted for the simple back band type seat for the Prowler which gives support only on a persons lower back which I believe is much more comfortable than the high back seats. So often high back seats are somewhat self defeating as they tend to put support too high actually leaving a persons lower back unsupported. The solution for some people tends to be to recline the seat to allow for some lower back contact which seems to cause them to lay back and totally wreck their posture and any chance at effective paddling. Consequently for these folks SOT's can feel tipsy, clumsy, and slow. I find that if you keep the seat support low, sit up like you should, and throw in a little torso rotation, SOT's can actually perform pretty well.

I had a good time in the Prowler 13 tonight it's a good size for me and my leg length luckily allows my feet to fall perfectly into one of the foot wells. Foot wells (rather than foot tracks) run the risk of being either a bit too short or a bit too long for many people. I don't know of anybody that every padded out a foot well on their own boat to make it fit but that would be a simple solution.

This Prowler seems to be popular enough for Ocean Kayak to keep it in their line as they move more toward fishing with their new Prowler Trident series of kayaks. I like it because for someone that isn't into fishing they won't have to pay for a bunch of features that are meaningless to them. In addition it's not over wide and stable, like so many fishing kayaks, so it still has a pretty decent glide and maneuvers quite well. It has been popular with the fishing segment for a few years now so it could be a great choice for someone that just wants to cruise or who likes to cruise but wants to fish from time to time as well.

Prowler 13 Review

Manufacturer = Johnson Outdoors
Brand = Ocean Kayak
Model = Prowler 13
Type = Sit On Top
Material = Plastic
Length = 13'-4"
Width = 28"
Weight = 54 lbs.

Location = Mission Bay - Aqua Adventure's Thursday Night Tour
Time = 6:00 PM
Distance = N/A
Duration = 2:00 hours
Avg. Speed = N/A
Conditions = Mostly sunny and breezy