Rigging a Prowler 13 Angler

[ronaultmtd]

I decided not to use metal to make the adapter- used a poly cutting board instead. What I like about this setup is if I decide to have a clean bow for fresh water bass fishing, casting lures- the triple mount comes off and the scotty fish finder mount goes where the triple mount is-

[ronaultmtd]

All my orders came in today and I went to work rigging- I used 1/4-20 stainless hardware to mount the Scotty multi mount and underneath I used 1 inch diameter 1/4 inch stainless apron washers and stainless lock nuts to make sure the mount had plenty of reinforcement so as not to move or wallow out the mounting hardware under the stress of wave action. I am in the process of installing the Hummingbird 570 DI. The mount that came with the Scotty was for Lowerance/Eagle fishfinders so I have to fashion an adapter plate to mate up the Hummingbird's mount from 1/4 inch aluminum plate but that is a piece of cake for an old inside machinist- the zig zag cleat looks good to go for the anchor system- stole that idea from You Tube- The time I spent in front of my laptop watching all the "how to rig your kayak videos" paid off. I am ready to fish! Now if the weather would just cooperate I would be calling on Metroman and Japanese Zero to help me with my first paddle! They got me started in kayaking...

[Foursteps24]

My flushmounts and rod holders are to arrive today and i bought my HB 170 this past weekend and just shipped the transducer off today to swap out for the scupper transducer. Good luck with all of your installs.

[ronaultmtd]

I spoke to Hummingbird customer service and they don't make the plastic scupper transducer for any of the down imaging products so I am going to have to use the internal hull duct seal method for the 570, but what the heck? It is no big deal. I did get lucky on the Trident battery bag- for 16 bucks (shipping included) Ocean Kayaks is shipping me the bag and all mounting hardware.

My job requires me to fly down to New Orleans Thursday and I fly home Sunday, so I won't be able to work on the Prowler project until next week. Missing out this weekend won't be the end of the world.

very nice, the weather only gets better even though they are calling for snow on friday

[lucky chaiyaker]

inaugural outing

good luck with that

[ronaultmtd]

I will talk to Hummingbird support Monday about options- if they don't make a thru hull scupper transducer for their down imaging products yet- I will make do with the transducer that came with the unit mounted inside the hull in a wet well system using duct seal- I finished the anchor trolley, so as soon as my seat and hardware come in (promised delivery by end of day on 3/23), I'll be ready to take it out on its inaugural outing.

[the_kegs]

You figure out how you're going to mount the transducer yet?

[ronaultmtd]

Congrats on your new yak. I have an OK Prowler as well. I will be getting my rod holders and flush mounts this weekend. I plan on pitting mine up front as well. Im contemplating to use the compact flush mounts between the middle hatch and sonar shield or to the left and rightbof the sonar shield. Where are you mounting yours? Also you may want to consider extenders for your rod holds depending where you put them. Look forward to seeing your set up.

I am putting the Scotty multi-mount right above the cup holder, dead center- on the mount, the center position will be for my fish finder- the Hummingbird 570 DI. I ordered the two different Scotty rod holders, the bait caster and the universal- they will go on each side of the fish finder. I also ordered the extenders for the rod holders in case I want added height- I plan on using these when I am anchored or drifting live and natural baits so I can have them in front of me....when trolling, I am not sure I'll use them- probably use the rocket launchers that fit in the flush mounts that are standard equipment from OK. I wanted something I could take off the kayak in case I just want to cast lures for bass fishing in lakes and freshwater rivers- the Scotty mounting system seems to be the right solution for me and is featured in a lot of YOU TUBE yak rigging tip videos on the INTERNET.

What I haven't figured out (YET) is a fish stringer system to harvest my catch- I see fish bags advertised and I see the OK fish stringer system. What method do you use- what type system?

[ronaultmtd]

My Hummingbird 570 DI fish finder came in yesterday two days after shipping from Anchor Express.com- excellent service and a good price. Everything else I ordered should be in by Tuesday for me to start outfitting. Outdoorplay.com is the source for seat and Hook1 is the hardware. One of the reasons I jumped on a fish finder so fast is the situation in Japan- Japan is the major source for electronics- no one knows how the nuclear situation will play out over the next few days, months, years...I thought that if I wanted one at a decent price I'd better get it now.

[ronaultmtd]

Sounds great, keep us updated with photos of your progress- pictures let everyone in on new ideas as well as the tried and proven rigging. I got a lot of my ideas off of You Tube videos. Never had an original idea, so I have to dig for answers. The right rivets are a great thing to know so thank you to the forum friends who know and share their knowledge. Thanks for helping me avoid a mistake. I am an inside machinist by trade so I am fairly handy with mechanical tools and measuring things to scale but there is a lot to learn about rigging.

I figured I didn't need the added GPS feature on my fish finder as I don't think giving out the GPS numbers when we find schooled up fish would do most kayakers any good due to the distance limitations of a non powered boat. If we are close we can shout or if equipped with handheld vhf radios, call our fishing partners. I thought the down imaging feature would be more useful to me and a slightly larger screen. The color screen would be nice but adding it adds another hundred dollars to the fish finder.

All my orders have shipped- can't wait to get them in and start!

[lucky chaiyaker]

OK Prowler 13

My new OK Prowler is in the basement being rigged. 2 flush mount scotty rod holders to left and right, and just forward of the sonar sheild.Probably going to need to purchase a 6" extender for the rod holder. Working on a milk crate for more storage. Waiting to purchase a humminbird 385ci in the next few weeks. spoke to gentleman at BPS this afternoon, want to thank him for letting me pick his brain.

GOOD FISHIN' EVERYONE

make sure you the right rivet not an automotive style rivet you need

if you use the normal automotive style it will pull out quickly

[ronaultmtd]

jumping in with both feet! Sounds like you have the rigging planned out in your mind. Im interested in hearing about what you end up doing!

I don't know about that JZ, but I do know that I never do anything halfway- it's either whole hog or nothing.

The biggest two investments over the purchase price (on sale for $569) of the Prowler is the seat and the fish finder. The seat is $156 (on sale) and the fish finder in $269.99 plus S&h of $9.95, so for roughly a thousand dollars or so I'll have a fully rigged salt water fishing kayak, brand new, never been wet. If you look at the purchase price of similiar rigged fishing kayaks without a down imaging fish finder, none are less than a grand. And according to every review I have read, I'll have the Porsche of sit on top kayak seats in the GTS Expedition. My old butt deserves a great seat.

If I find I don't like kayak fishing (and I don't think that is likely) I believe I can get my money out of this rig. And if that is the case it won't be because I didn't have a good kayak for the kind of fishing I was trying to do. For fresh water lakes and rivers, the MDC Synergy should be tops. For salt water, The 13 Prowler Angler and Trident are featured in many extreme fishing videos on You Tube and the ones I saw launched from the beach in the surf in several. So I figured it was a very good choice for fishing Chesapeake Bay.

[DOGFISH]

Whoa, sounds like you have been reading up on the forum and planning ahead. Good going.