Kayak dilema!

[Waterman07]

Ok... So I am in the market for a yak, I have an opportunity to get on of these 3 kayaks. The cobra tourer, Ocean Kayak prowler, and scuper pro TW, all are around 15ft. I will be primarily using them for spearfishing with an occasional scuba dive off it. My fiance will also be getting one soon, as soon as money permits. So we will be doing some ocean paddling and crusing harbors/bays. We will be taking this summer to bass lake, seqouia and other lakes. So pretty much what do you guys have to say about these kayaks, and if any of you have one of these would you recommend it? Appreciate the info any will help! I am just stuck and cant pick one!
Thanks
-Joe

[specialk]

I you can rent and paddle before buying, try it. OEX in sunset beach / huntington beach might help. You will need to find a compromise between speed and stability to suit both purposes. The scupper pro is fast but may not be the best boat for diving. Out of your 3 choices, I like the prowler.

[Trimbandit]

I have the prowler 13. It is very stable, but sloooow. The thing I don't like is that the way the forward hatch is, I can't even get a 75cm gun in there.

[Waterman07]

Yeah thats why Ill be looking at the 15ft prowler, i can hopefully attach my riffe island gun on the side.

[YakAtak]

I have a Cobra Navigator that has a tank well, two hatches and is in mint shape for for $600. I'm pretty sure it can fit an Island.

[SBH20Man]

I have both the Cobra Tourer and the Scupper Pro TW and use both for diving and for H&L fishing. My Tourer does not have a bow hatch, but the Scupper Pro does. Does the Tourer you are considering have any hatches installed (particularly the "A" hatch in the front)?

For spearing, the Scupper Pro is the better way to go, IMO because of the bow hatch for storing gear, and it is generally much more stable and predictable, particularly for someone getting used to working from a kayak. It is easier to scoot forward while straddling in order to pull stuff from the hatch. When I try to scoot forward on my Tourer, I generally flip it over. (A friend I loaned it to once described using it to be "like fishing from a unicycle").

That being said, I use my Tourer more often because 1) I don't punch through huge surf like you guys up north and down south and 2) it has a rudder and is much faster to paddle long distances, which I frequently do. I also like that it sits real low in the water, and I don't care about the "wet" ride when I am in a wetsuit.

The Tourer is definitely the more "minimalist" setup - I throw the small stuff into the 8" hatch between my legs, then strap my fins to the fore deck and the rest goes in the tank well.

The Tourer is considerably lighter, but is also more fragile because of the thinner plastic. I weigh about 160 dripping wet, so I'm easy to float, btw.

Can't comment on the Prowler, unless you are talking about the Trident version with the "rod pod" in the center. I have paddled those and think they would be a GREAT platform for spearing for anyone that weighs more than 175 lbs.

[Scottywotty]

Here we go again!

Ok, Ocean Kayak, Scupper Pro, Twin hatch, not a tank well, don't tie stuff on top. They are out there( they stopped production) If you keep your eye out for them, you can find one very reasonably priced. Don't F*+^ around w/ all the others. get the best! you won't be sorry!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Scotty

["Yard-Sale Josh"]

Scupper pro's are my favorite. They haul ass.

[SBH20Man]

Originally Posted by Scottywotty

Here we go again!

Ok, Ocean Kayak, Scupper Pro, Twin hatch, not a tank well, don't tie stuff on top. They are out there( they stopped production) If you keep your eye out for them, you can find one very reasonably priced. Don't F*+^ around w/ all the others. get the best! you won't be sorry!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Scotty

I'm going to disagree with you slightly - there is one good reason to have an open tankwell, IMO, and that is for storing catch without fouling the interior of your kayak. I don't know about everyone else, but I have enough crap to clean up already after a dive without having to worry about bleaching and scrubbing out the blood and guts from the inside of my yaks... I've stored fish inside once and didn't clean out afterwards immediately. I'll never make that mistake again!

Now I use a fish bag that is securely strapped to the rear tank well. Much easier in my opinion. But just my opinion, and like I said, I don't paddle out through big surf. If the viz is good but the surf is bad, I launch from a protected area and paddle a couple of miles.

[rojodiablo]

Originally Posted by Waterman07

Yeah thats why Ill be looking at the 15ft prowler, i can hopefully attach my riffe island gun on the side.

One giant wave gone wrong, and that gun is gone.

It's been said so many times before; "If you love it, lock it...." All guns go INSIDE the board. For spearfishing, get the Scupper pro. There are a couple others that fit the bill, but if that's one of your choices, you're done shopping.
An Islander fits inside a Scupper pro; they are pretty good for H&L and touring. They are faster than a prowler, and they don't fight side winds and currents as bad.

[rojodiablo]

Originally Posted by Scottywotty

Here we go again!

Ok, Ocean Kayak, Scupper Pro, Twin hatch, not a tank well, don't tie stuff on top. They are out there( they stopped production) If you keep your eye out for them, you can find one very reasonably priced. Don't F*+^ around w/ all the others. get the best! you won't be sorry!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Scotty

Scotty is 100% correct.

[LunkerBuster]

Originally Posted by SBH20Man

I'm going to disagree with you slightly - there is one good reason to have an open tankwell, IMO, and that is for storing catch without fouling the interior of your kayak. I don't know about everyone else, but I have enough crap to clean up already after a dive without having to worry about bleaching and scrubbing out the blood and guts from the inside of my yaks... I've stored fish inside once and didn't clean out afterwards immediately. I'll never make that mistake again!

Now I use a fish bag that is securely strapped to the rear tank well. Much easier in my opinion. But just my opinion.

fish bag in the hatch...problem solved

the tankwell is just less secure in a flip, easier access, but less secure, for that I have to go with the hatches

[SBH20Man]

Hey, to each his own, as they say. If we all wanted the same thing, there'd only be one brand of gun, one model of kayak, and one type of wetsuit, etc.

[Ocean-tendency]

The cobra tourer, Ocean Kayak prowler, and scuper pro TW are all good boats in the 15' range. Everyone paddles alittle bit differently. I'm more of a fan of Ocean Kayak brands since I use the Caper 10..don't hate..but everything has to be securely fastened before launching and beaching the Kayak..I personally like the Prowler 15'..the cargo space is improved greatly from the Prowler 13' and speed is better, depending on how much you weigh.

Best advice...you know your gear, so go get in all 3, pretend like you are paddling and visualize all your gear in it.. Practice sliding in and out of it..I promise you will learn quickly which one you'll like better and which one will suit your gear better without having to hang a gun or tie a gun to this or that.

[NihilisticMisanthropist]

dont be gay, go in on an inflatable with me.