10m Cooper Prowler - Seaworthy?

[denmanislander]

We are currently looking seriously at a 10 m Cooper Prowler motor yacht with forward and aft cabins. Nice fit, well maintained, low hours on the twin engines. Does anyone have an idea about how seaworthy they are? Any specific problems? Can't seem to find anything specific about Cooper on the web...

[cat man do]

The only Prowler I know of is these

http://www.schionningdesigns.com.au/www/welcome.cfm

[gypsylounge]

I have owned a 35’ Cooper Prowler Aft Cabin Motor Yacht for about three months now. This last weekend we decided to make a 30 mile trip from Long Beach, CA. to Avalon, Catalina, CA. despite a small craft warning. The ride over was rough but the boat handled the ride great. A few bumps but nothing to worry much about.
The trip home was another story. We headed out at 8am Sunday morning hoping to beat the weather but it was already blowing hard. There was a two red flag warning and it didn’t take long before we were in some really big seas. It was reported that the waves were 10 feet but that is measured from the middle to the top. It was a cross swell and we were rolling from the valley of the waves over the top and back down. It was crazy being in the valley of waves and looking up at a huge wall of water that would crash over the port side of the boat.
The boat handled great despite the dramatic degree of roll she was in for a little over two hours. These are strong Canadian built vessels designed to handle a much more harsh environment.
As far as recurring problems, I looked at three identical boats. They all had signs of leaks from failed flybridge caulking. The worst on all three was visible at the Port-Aft corner of the salon and at the book shelf in the aft cabin, just on the other side.
Let me know if you have any other questions.
Ryan
gypsy lounge at yahoo dot com

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by gypsylounge

... There was a two red flag warning and it didn’t take long before we were in some really big seas. It was reported that the waves were 10 feet but that is measured from the middle to the top...

FWIW: Coast Guard stations hoist storm flags in foul weather:
red triangle for small craft warning
double red triangle for gale* warning
single red-and-black square for storm warning
and the feared double red-and-black square flags for a hurricane warning

* Gale warnings are issued when winds within 39 - 54 mph (34 - 47 knots) are expected within 24 hours, or frequent gusts between 35 knots and 49 knots are expected.

[denmanislander]

After that post in 2008, we bought the boat. Since then, we have been out once in seas upwards of 2.5 metres (8 feet) where she handled beautifully! They were following seas so no crashing water on port or starboard but getting 2-3 knots extra on surfing (inadvertantly!) down the fronts! Yeehah! We love the layout and storage. Last summer I figured out that, at 8 knots, we were using about 18 litres/hour (4.7 usgals) or 1.7 nm/gal. Not too bad for twin gas engines.
Forbes Cooper of Vancouver designed these boats and there is very little literature about them. I talked to one of the former employees and he told me they kept no documentation on them!

[1st Mate]

We've had a 10M Cooper Prowler for 6 years. She has been a very sturdy and reliable vessel. The hull design is fantastic. She can get up on plane and get you out of rough water. We've taken 10ft swells while traveling with heavy trawler's, and our Prowler bested them. The best part, when we'd had enough, we got up on plane and got out of the rough seas. High winds pose a challenge, as the aft cabins sit up high, but she's sturdy and maneuvers well. We trust our Cooper Prowler with our family!

Ah...fuel efficiency...also discussed above. Our twin Volvo Deisels burn 3.5 gal/hour going about 7kts on a long cruise. Take her up on plane (16 kts) and she'll burn 11 gal/hour. Pretty good gas economy for a beautiful boat! We love her!

[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

[denmanislander]

Loupdemer - The surveyor told me the blisters were not important enough to worry about. Maybe yours are more pervasive than mine.

I would love to start a 10 m Prowler thread! I think you can subscribe to a thread so that if one of the interested parties does a post, the subscribers get notified - Makes for more up-to-date replies. I am just not sure how to start one. (Hint Hint moderator!)

[Boracay]

We normally require a large number of posts on a particular topic before we think about special threads.

A very large number...

[denmanislander]

All right, maybe we were reaching. We could just keep this one going with questions or comments about the Prowlers that we own.

[Leo Quigley]

I just bought a 9m Cooper Prowler with I/O 3.7 LX gas engines last winter and we've gone out about 15 times this summer - absolutely love the boat. Very spacious, the walk-around is great and she handles real well. There's a lot of interest around these parts in the Bayliner 3218's and 3270's. I can see some advantages with the BL esp the Hino diesels but I have to say I do appreciate the aft "state room" (sounds a bit grandiose but WTH). My wife loves the boat too - any comparisons between the Prowler and Bayliners? I've heard BL is among the lower quality boats on the market - any truth to that?

[denmanislander]

Don't really know Bayliners that well, only rumours that I won't spread further. However, I do know that I like the Prowler layout better than the layout on the BL of equal size.
Has anybody with a Prowler out there tried to change the port side spark plugs? Did you have to bribe your 10 year old nephew to get in the teeny space? Is there a remote tool for reaching the those damn plugs?

[topr8]

Hi all

I'm not sure if anyone is still around on this thread. We are in NZ and have a 10m prowler but it does not have the aft cabin. What a fantastic lady she is and so comfortable. It is not a boat widely known here and the closest boat to it is the 1989 Riviera 34 if we are trying to explain it to anyone. I was wondering if there were any other kiwis around who owned a prowler as we have only seen one other. Cheers.

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, topr8.

[Stress Tab]

We just bought a 1986 Cooper Prowler 10M Sundeck. After spending all summer on it, we've decided that we love it! Quite a bit of room for a 35' boat! Love the propane stove - cooking on the hook without having to start the gennie is a real treat. Wondering though....does anyone have access to manuals for this boat? I', finding it hard to find any information on it..