# the new jigger - prowler 4.3



## cheaterparts (Jul 3, 2010)

Well I slide over to No Limits in Seaford last Sunday ( 6/4/14 ) to order a 4.7 prowler and the place is closing down maybe by the end of June
So I picked up a 4.3 instead in Mango colour that was on the floor ( they have deals atm on floor stock ) so the price was right and have ordered the Ice box for it again at a realy good price



















so grabed the trailer and got the 4.3 home and started planing some pimping --

I droped into Bunning to grab a couple of stainless saddles for the anchor trolley - to my surprise they had the right size to fit straight onto the brass inserts front and rear
I ordered a couple of 22 mm sheave blocks off Ebay on the sunday night and they were delivered by post tuesday so the anchor trolley has be fitted up

the Prowler ice box should be in by the W/E but thats a quick thing to mount just a couple of hold down straps that fit to std brass insert mounts

Rod storage will be simple enough the 4.3 has room to put 4 rods behind the seat - 2 rod holders moulded in behind the seat and the 2 std flush mounts - many use for trolling
as one of the moulded in rod holders will no dout carry my Nav light I have decided to fit 2 more flush mounted rod holder further back giving me 6 possable holders for storage

The front rod holders - I have to make up a carrier like the one I use on the king fisher ( I like my rods fairly flat not cocked up in the air )
so I've have the rudder peddle slides off for a look 
there are 3 inserts that hold these on I cut a couple of pieces of 2mm stainless sheet and drilled them - these bolt in behind the paddle slides , I just need to do some shaping and it will give me a couple of side mounts for the front rod carrier 
there are already some inserts in front of the center hatch I can use to mount the front of this rack
some Berkley rod holders the same as I use on the kingfisher will go on this carrier

I've picked up a Lowrance elite 5 HDI today and had a quick look at how I'm going to mount it up - the tranducer will need a little fiddling with the mount but no real drama

so theres a bit to do but it wont take to long I wont to be fishing out of it on the Easter W/E

about the only thing I'm still working on is what battery/batteries to use by the look of it if using the sounder and nav light it will draw around 2 amps
and a question to the guys that use the 4.3/4.7 where do you guys put the battery atm the frount hatch looks like it 
there is a small 4 " hatch in the front of the rear well but a bit small to fit a battery through


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## Greaper (Jun 4, 2008)

Great yak...

I have just installed an Elite 5 HDI on mine (3rd upgrade and should have replaced the mounting plate...will if I can find one!), install was a bit of a fiddle but happy with the result..hiding all the transducer cable took some work, ridiculous amount of cable. Transducer is a real tight fit but required no reworking of either the transducer or mounting plate. Battery has always been mounted in the front compartment, just easier than the back one...

Also have a 4" hatch installed in the centre hatch (front) where I can stow fully made up rods (6'6") x 3 for surf launches, reels in centre hatch/rods through into hull...this is great and save time rerigging when out the back of the break...

Anchor Trolley is a welcome addition, the ice box is awesome, even if it's just for storage...

Also check out the Pacific Sails for these too, well worth the $$$

Darren


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## cheaterparts (Jul 3, 2010)

Pimping chores have been to add some rod storage which was easy enough just added 2 more flush mounts pointing to rear










X marks the spot for the first hole on my new yak so I started with a 45 mm hole saw and die grinder










I now have storage for 6 rods behind the seat - one spot will hold a nav light at night and one could hold a net 
so that is some rod storage done , I will have to make some kind of riser to get the reels a little higher off the water
and yes this would not be the option for surf launchs but most of my fishing is done in ether of our bays

I did some boring stuff like fixing the paddle keeper - I didn't like the std set up 
I fitted a couple more guides for the rudder lift and drop rope
an anchor trolley is also fitted up

I have fitted the transducer for the Lowrance 5HDI -- that took a little time although the mounts that came with the transducer fitted straight on the trany sat 12 mm proud of the bottom
I didn't like the idea of that running onto things before the hull . So the bracket was cut down and welded shorter and after a couple of test fits 
a few bends it all bolted up pretty close to flush with the bottom
Much happier with the mount now










The rod holder frame took longer than I thought to do , I am pretty happy with the results though
No extra holes needed to be drilled in the yak to fit my rod holded frame , it bolts onto the std threaded inserts that are already in the yaK










stainless sheet was cut out and fits behind the rudder foot pedal slides and 2 small lugs fit onto the front screws that hold the hinges for the hatch lid










fitted up after the stainless was cleaned up . it fits fairly neat the front rods holders will need some 4 inch risers and the side holder maybe 1 inch ' these will be stainless as well



Greaper said:


> Great yak...
> 
> I have just installed an Elite 5 HDI on mine (3rd upgrade and should have replaced the mounting plate...will if I can find one!), install was a bit of a fiddle but happy with the result..hiding all the transducer cable took some work, ridiculous amount of cable.
> 
> ...


I haven't used my mounting plate for the Head unit but have put it away for now instead I cut one out of stainless steel sheet 
I just thought if I do need to change the sounder dow the track I have the std top as a template

you are right about the trany cable theres enought to go around the yak I have at least half the lenth coiled in the large section of scupper

is ther a chance on taking a pick of your hatch for in hull storage of rods - I'm guessing you have put it where the optioned rod tube goes


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## cheaterparts (Jul 3, 2010)

A few more happy snaps










Sounder fit up on a stainless plate ( note the bling here )










cleat for the anchor rope again no need to drill the yak for screws










I picked up the ice box on and what a great bit of gear this is plenty of room inside for everything I'm likely to catch ,at a meter long inside and a good side lid even large fish should be easy to store

I bungied a small plastic box on top just to store my anchor atm - still not sure the best way to store it

With a couple of days on the water with the new beast my first Impressions - it's faster than the kingfisher, 
this thing does go well with .6 - 7 Kph a very easy pase
in fact paddling into an 8 - 10 kt head wind the gps was showing 6.5 kph with out me working hard at all
on flat water no tide assist I had the yak doing 8.4 kph at one stage

The ice box it\s perfect, just slide the gummies in theres so much room

I found the rudder hard to put up and down the rope pull seamed to bind making it real hard to move
so I removed the rudder and turned the pivot up the other way this lifted the rudder an inch or so and had all the cables and ropes lined up better -- now moving it up or down is much easier , however the rudder now sits above the rear deck and not in the rudder rest moulded into the rear of the kayak 
It's some thing I'm thinking about atm

Another thing the anchor trolley was on the LHS as thats the side the brass threaded inserts were , so that where I fitted it 
I've changed that to the RHS now as it was not comfortable for me to work from that side and in higher tide flows like you find in other parts of W/P I would prefur to work for the side I'm user to, of cause the paddle keeper is now on the LHS










note - the rudder is now sitting clear of the kayak and this is the new rear anchor trolley mount made out of a piece of 3 mm Stainless plate
again this saves drilling holes in the kayak

I'm sure a few more things will change in the next few trips but on the whole its comfortable to paddle and fish from

after seeing this I've hacked another hole for a battery hatch











the new screw hatch fits I will fit my new battery mount in the hull before screwing and sealing the hanch into the new hole










this hatch is much easier to fit batteries than the hatch behind the seat , it also gives me an inspection hatch to inside to hull 
where if it ever needed a bailing pump I have access

I've made a battery carrier that will hold 3 off 7.2 Ah batterys 
I tried out one to see how long the sounder would last and after 8 hours the sounder turned off 
so not long enough for a day on the water - 2 will go the distance though with a third only needed for those long/all all nighters with the nav light

with the batteries inside the hull and not in the front hatch theres room for my trolley and drift shoot

so its coming along but still a work in progress


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## Phoenix (Jan 12, 2006)

Ocean Kayaks have really lifted the bar a lot in terms of the design of fishing kayak. The prowlers are a great choice - tight lines mate.


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