I have ran an Ocean Kayak Prowler for over a decade. I primarily fish rivers and oceans on the west coast. Lots of breezy days, and strong currents – being able to hold a spot for a little longer with one hand on the rod and one on the steering lever seems like a game changer.
I'm 170# fully clothed & sopping wet. The goal of the kayak is to launch down banks and beaches that no other boats can. I'd like to keep the fully kitted weight down under 120lbs. That said, My Prowler full of gear, crate, rods, battery etc is manageable even when I'm cold & tired, or the access is too rough for wheels. I've had my frustrations (forward hatch seal leaks when I launch through surf, vulnerable keel, all the seats kinda suck and your ass and balls get wet) but it's been a capable, fast, albeit spartan platform for fish adventures.
Local kayak gettin' spot got a hardly used Shearwater on trade-in. Upgraded seat, some fish centric bolt-ons and small mods, keelguards, impulse drive. Seems good for an experienced angler. The obvious question is – is there a fatal flaw or annoying thing with this boat that would compel someone to just ditch it after putting the time and money into it? I'd love to hear from some folks with experience with this kayak, and hear what you do with it, and how it worked for you.
Tight lines yall
Posted by Cosmic_Artichoke
3 Comments
Only real fatal flaw is the drive pod system.
People have been breaking off the corners of that pod if they pedal way too hard trying to go Mach chicken down the water, or slam into something pretty hard.
The impulse drive hasn’t had many issues, I have sold hundreds with riot kayaks, I only had to fix 2 of them, and they were both human error.
The rudder could definitely be better, but at least it’s easy to make better, lots of guys either buy the YakHobby addon, completely swap to the SAI rudder kit, or bolt on Kydex sheets or plastic cutting boards.
The platform itself is amazing for flat water conditions, and I prefer it for that, some tweaks here and there make it one of the best calm water kayaks IMO. For me it would be the best for that particular task.
Particularly if you get a hobie 180 drive and YakGadget pod, but that’s a good chunk of money.
Personally I’d wait until the warp drive package comes out…😀
Had mine for 5 years now. It’s a great kayak. Very moddable, and is great for my needs of fishing shallow flats. I use a hobie 180 drive in there, because I don’t think a prop drive would work well in my waters with all the seagrass. FYI, the owner of Vibe originally (Joshua Thomas) who designed the shearwater is about to launch his new kayaks after leaving vibe. Cajo Journey.. look them up. The outpost pdl 128 is honestly just the shearwater but seemingly fixing all of its flaws like poor rudder, messy pod latch system, no internal hull storage, more mounting options for electronics and motors without needing 3rd party mounts.. etc.