10m Cooper Prowler - Seaworthy?

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Stress Tab.

[Stress Tab]

Thank you!

[Adelie]

Wow, a thread that's not only been resurrected 3 times, but this most recent one after more than 5.5yr.

[Stress Tab]

Lol! I guess those Prowlers are still going strong!

[Coast Wanderer]

Hi folks, just joined the forum because I found this thread in a search, so here it is brought back to life again. We just recently bought a Cooper Yachts Prowler and once we knew the boat was the layout we liked and it happened to be moored in a place we liked, we took the plunge, despite all the things that need to be fixed. There is so little info out there about these boats, that threads like this one are the only hope. Ours does have a bit of hull blistering, but most are small and hard. The ones that are not hard will likely be repaired during an upcoming haul out. We had a bad experience with a surveyor who admittedly was no expert on blistering, so he wrote that they all need to be repaired, yet when we speak with the experts who have looked at them, they say it's clear they have been painted over many times, indicating that they've been there for years, but just keep an eye on them and if there's no change year over year, don't worry about them.
We will also apparently need to change the fuel gauge sending unit, which will entail cutting a hole in the step up in the salon where the table is mounted and another hole in the floor below that, to reach the sending unit on the fuel tank. Not sure why they wouldn't leave an access hatch, but oh well, we'll deal with it. Other than that, it's just things like waste hose replacement, macerator pump replacement, maybe some new spark plugs, but the boat runs well and handles well.

I'm hoping to read about others who have had specific issues or have found little tricks/fixes/ideas for working on these boats or just using them. We love the boat and are going to make it great. Btw, ours has twin VP 570 gas engines. I'm guessing the most economical speed is around 7 or 8 knots.

[Stress Tab]

We had a 1986 10M Sundeck for 3 years, and loved it. It was in a bit of rough shape when we got it, but we fixed it up nice. For a boat that's 35' LOA, you simply can't beat the room! 6' of headroom everywhere, two heads (one with separate shower/tub), propane 4 burner stove with oven meant that we would be cooking anywhere, anytime! Under way, at the marina or on the hook somewhere. We basically lived aboard in the summer loved the boat. Lots of 'pros'. The few 'cons' for us? She definitely wasn't fast - you're right, best fuel consumption was about 8 knots. She would do 27 mph flat out, but we'd go through fuel crazy fast if we did that. The other thing is that, because she was a MY, she didn't really like heavy seas, especially waves coming abeam. Very well made tho; tough solid boat. Wife actually cried the day we sold it! Hope you have good luck with yours and enjoy her as much as we did.

[Coast Wanderer]

That’s all great info, thank you! Ours is not a Sundeck, just a 32’ with a single V berth and a deck at the back, but of course the table area makes room to sleep 2 more. We would probably never have more than the 2 of us and our dog overnight though. I believe the previous owner removed many things and sold them separately, like the biminis, BBQ, Loran etc, but we are getting it all ready for a few nights up our coast next spring and summer. We’ll avoid rough seas as much as we can, but as you know, the weather can change dramatically, so we’ll be prepared to endure it. We currently use a combination of a fish finder and a Standard Horizon GPS unit, as well as an iPad with Navionics. We also have an old Toughbook laptop with a free nav app and a USB GPS attachment. Might even get the sonar unit that works with the iPad.. Today, I plan to pull spark plugs and freshen them with new ones if needed.

[Stress Tab]

Nice! Too bad the previous guy took so much out; when we sold ours, we sold it total turn key so the new owners didn't need to buy a single thing. These boats are well made and solid tho! One summer we decided to replace a port window in the V Berth, and the people at our marina were shocked when they saw how thick the hull was! Anyway, they were (and still are) good boats, and I think you'll have years of fun with her!

[Eclipse 2]

Originally Posted by loupdemer

I just purchased a Cooper Prowler 10m last month. I love the boat and look forward to enjoying it once we finish working on it. It's a 1988 diesel model, and we got a pretty good deal, so I'm putting some money into her. One issue I have in common with denmanislander is the blisters. I plan to put her on the hard from December to February. I'm looking at having the bottom stripped and resurfaced to get rid of all the blisters at once. They are pretty numerous and widespread across the bottom. The idea is to give it three months under infrared lamps to thoroughly dry out the hull before resurfacing. The plan is still taking shape. We'll see how it goes. This week she's coming out of the water for new through-hulls, exhaust elbows, and packing glands. I did squeeze in one overnight trip to Bowen Island (from Vancouver), and wow, what a terrific boat. Handles great, so comfy. And it doesn't have that tendency to "wander" at trawler speeds, as so many planing boats tend to do. One of the boats I looked at was a Bayliner 4087, and that boat wandered all over the Fraser River on the sea trial. Was a pain staying out of the way of tugs. I pulled the plug on that deal after paying for surveys and everything. No regrets, though. Love the Prowler!

Any interest in starting a Prowler 10m thread? Or is there one already?

John

Yes I'd love to partake in a thread if not too late (It's now 2019!) Just acquired a 10M Prowler last year.

[Coast Wanderer]

Well, folks, here’s a bit of an update on our 1990 Prowler.
We took it to a shop with a guy who is locally known as the best Fiberglas guy around, where we had the hull sandblasted and every single one of the 1000+ Small blisters ground out, dried out, filled with filler, then the entire hul got 6 coats of epoxy primer/sealer, followed by 6 coats of anti fouling, with the first coat being a light colour, so we could see when it was time to think about repainting the bottom again.
Once that was done, we asked them to check and swap out some waste hoses, but we found that not only had someone driven a long screw from the engine bay, into a waste hose on the other side, but the waste tank was seriously corroded and was leaking. (seriously, who uses an aluminum waste tank?.) We decided that the waste system needed a complete overhaul, so he put in a new plastic tank with integrated macerator pump and all new hoses, but while we were at it, we converted to head back to electric, which it was originally, but the previous owner had cut the wiring off and installed a manual pump.
Getting that waste tank out of there was hellish for the poor bugger who had to do it, but he did it nonetheless and we decided to relocate the waste tank and batteries, but we also noticed that our hot water tank was the original one and was potentially leaking as well. In light of the fact that to change the hot water tank, we would have to move the waste tank out of the way first, we decided That we would just replace the HW tank as well. It’s a good thing we did, it turns out it was leaking. We did see signs of water inside that area, but couldn’t nail down where was coming from. Now we know.

We had planned to take the boat to a different shop for mechanical work, after we were done with the shop, but since our slip is incredibly difficult to get in and out of, I decided, (as in me not we), to add a bow thruster into the mix. Of course that was expensive, but we have already decided that we are going to make this damn boat our own boat and do whatever is needed to give us a decade of reasonably trouble free boating.

So, after all that, we are now into this old boat for quite a bit, so we started looking at our tired old 5.7 L gas engines and a tired old 290 B drives. The previous owner had done a little or no maintenance whatsoever on the drives and engines. The engines burn oil and don’t develop a ton of power and the drives were in very bad condition, as the boat sat in a marina for seven years without being touched. Even if they had sent somebody down to swap out the zincs, that would’ve been helpful, but that was not the case and the drives were badly corroded.

OK, so next step, add a different shop and now we are looking through the Volvo Penta catalog at new engine and drive packages. This would include two completely redesigned helms, with all electronic displays, new throttle/gear levers, drive by wire controllers and a massive mortar shell hit to our bank account.

We have recently watched my parents decline into dementia, we had to give away all their worldly possessions, sell their home and move into a more secure, safer retirement home, then have to deal with life without much of who they were previously. It basically put our own mortality rate in front of our own faces and we have decided that we want to do what we want to do, so damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead. We have adopted this boat permanently now and it will be a good one! What good is all the money you accumulate in your life, if you can’t use it for something you want to do? We are mostly retired, have no kids to leave anything to and we are very active within our own community. Most boaters would think we are crazy and they’d be right, but Since this boat is exactly the right layout for the two of us and our dog, we have decided to go this route. The resale value be damned, we are going travelling! Any questions?

[rsn48]

I have just repowered and Volvo wasn't helpful. I was originally going to purchase a Volvo V6 240 hp duoprop, adding a new leg as well. I won't go into the long story, the short story was guys kept suggesting Mercury, but no I wanted a Volvo. In the end I decided to go Mercury 6.2 l 350 hp duoprop, internally fresh water cooled. And I'm so glad I did.

Mercury's parts and service is available everywhere; Volvo not so much. Volvo is more expensive to service and the part are more expensive. Mercury stopped using automotive engines and instead designed their own marine engine dedicated to a water environment. Volvo is still using a marinized auto engine. My old engine did not like salt water and the heat exchanger was a horror show.

I have gutted the entire inside bilge area of everything, new fuel tanks, new head, new bow thruster, new Efoy, new heat system, new Fire Fly battery bank (4), new Fire Fly batteries (2) for the bow thruster. All electrical, electronics, cable steering, steering wheel, dials, buttons, old electrical inverters, anything old that was screwed down was removed. Everything has been or is in the process of being replaced.

So I know what you are going through, trust me. I am just having a fit as I thought the boat would be completed by now but it won't be until just before labour day. I have my boat registered for the Classic Boat Show in Victoria that weekend.

[Coast Wanderer]

Wow, rdn48, lots of work for sure! I wish we could put in 2 new fuel tanks instead of the single 600 litre tank we have on the port side (odd way to balance a boat). We had a 150 waste tank in the center and a 250 litre water tank on the starboard side, but to get it sorted, we’d have to relocate all tanks. To that end, our new smaller 105 litre waste tank was relocated and the batteries were moved into the old location of the old waste tank. Might have been better to leave the batteries down low where they were, but I don’t think it will make a huge difference.
As for the Volvo vs Merc decision, it was easy for us, because the shop with the guy we like and trust is a VP dealer and is well connected with VP.. If he was a Merc dealer, we’d have gone that route.. I couldn’t find any woeful stories about the VP “glass cockpit” setup, so we are going that route for the helms. My goal is to have the most efficient 16 cylinders burning gas that we can and I’m hoping all the engine feedback data can help us figure out the exact best economical speed for us to travel at, even though we could get close with just regular calculations.
It is definitely a commitment to owning a boat for a long time, as it is simply not going to be worth what it has had put into it to anyone but us.

[Eclipse 2]

Great to talk to some Cooper Prowler owners! We acquired a 1987 10 M (33') aft cabin last summer and we love it - a beautiful, classic vessel. Done a lot of updating (windlass, depth sounder, city water input, fixed shifters that were stiff & steering that was loose, etc.) I'm still trying to figure out where everything is on the boat... There was no owner's manual, and despite searching online, and talking to some owners here on the St. Lawrence, I can find nothing. Rumour has it the now-defunct company was never very big on manuals anyway. In desperation I've been referring to a late 1980's Carver 3207 manual, as it is a similar boat. Any help tracking down a Prowler manual would be most appreciated, and of course I'll be happy to pay for a photocopy and all shipping costs! Thanks.

[Coast Wanderer]

Well, if I ever find any kind of manual for these boats, I would gladly share in here and I’m pretty sure that Forbes Cooper wouldn’t mind, since it will help every one of the owners of his boats.
Speaking of windlass, ours is hydraulically powered, driven by the port motor and I’ve always thought that was great for having a strong windlass, but I haven’t got it set up yet so that if the one engine failed, I could run a belt to the other engine.
On another note, I read in some forum somewhere that a typical thickness for the hull in a typical 40 foot boat might be around 10 mm or so, not sure if that is accurate or not, but we found that our hull is 20 to 22 mm thick at the front sides and that was when we cut in a bow thruster. I have taken the pieces we removed over to friends places who had questioned me about the thickness of the hull, but when I handed him the piece, his question was answered. These are pretty beefy boats!
In our marina, hidden away in one of the boat houses, is a very nice 10m Prowler with an aft cabin, but it has not been seen by the owner or used for at least three years now and it is just sitting there, probably growing blisters on the bottom… Such a shame.

[Eclipse 2]

Our windlass is powered by a cranking battery under the forward berth, and we're lucky the boat came with a genny and two solar panels. It's nice to know how thick the hull is! It's certainly a solid boat and will provide you years of service if looked after.