Budget conscious "creek" kayak???

We have some property on Talking Rock "Creek" in North GA. I put "creek" in parenthesis, because it's river-wide but creek-deep; 30-40' wide but ankle to chest deep, with rapids.

I've waded in the 500' of frontage we have, plus a thousand feet down-stream, but I REALLY want to grab a sit-on-top kayak, drop in at the property, and cruise 3-4 miles down to the "big bridge" for pick-up...preferably drinking beer and fishing the whole way down.

My first thought was craigslist, but everything I found was huge and/or banged up.

Second thought was "Cheapest kayak walmart sells," but they, not suprisingly, get horrible reviews.

After reading eighty-godzillion reviews, I'm asking the hive for suggestions.

I'm 90% sold on something from "Emotion." Either the Stealth Angler, Revel, Spitfire, or Guster.

Considering the conditions (mostly shallow, rocky water, with the occasional need to pick the thing up & drag it) and my size (6' - 190lbs.) Any thoughts from the hive-mind?

Cabela's has the Guster 10 in pink for $349.  Just sayin'.

I have two Walmart kayaks. They float.

We bought "Challenger" brand inflatable kayaks at (Hennessy Honda of Woodstock can suck a big bag of) Dicks sporting goods.  They kick ass for Lake use, and would probably work well in a criver.

WestMarine has the "Pelican"

ankle deep means you need more boat to float shallower. Find a cheep Gheenoe. 10-16' feet, double chined so you can heel it over while paddling, should only draw a couple of inches with just you a cooler and a few rods.  SOT yaks are great for fishing, but rapids means you probably want a sit in, or canoe. 12' canoe would work for  you as well.  All of the above can be picked up and dragged. The rotomold boats will generally bounce off whatever you throw at them, the gheenoe will want a more gentle hand with running into rocks.

If you want a whole new hobby, look at building a cedar strip canoe, 50-90lbs when finished.  (builder skill/patience is the key to getting it lighter) skinned in and out with fiberglass. INCREDIBLY durable.  There's a video on YT of a guy killing his. It took shooting holes to make it unusable. 

mad_machine said:

WestMarine has the "Pelican"

12' Pelican was swamped with my 260lbs and fishing gear. 14' tarapon was a much drier ride.  That said, my niece was quite happy on the 12' yak.

I bought a pair of Coleman kayaks for the wife and I at Dicks Sporting Goods. Who, by the way, does not own the domain dicks.com, so when you're in to store trying to narrow down your choices do not go to that web site expecting to do kayak shopping. Anyway, they were very cheap and came with paddles and would horrify a purist. But we have years of good service out of them doing almost exactly what you describe. I don't think the colemans are worth searching out, but I think what I'm trying to say is that a cheap kayak will serve you just fine and don't get wrapped up in details and reviews. My only complaint is the cabin area is a little tight for me. Similar build 6'0" and 170lbs. But a sit on top won't likely have that problem. 

Oh and I'm jealous. Or envious. Something like that. Sounds like a beautiful property. 

Tractor tire tube...

slefain said:

Tractor tire tube...

Damn!  You're a genius!  And much easier to move via rolling vs. portaging a boat.

Adirondack guide boat.

See if you can find an early (1998-ish) used Wilderness Systems Pungo. It does exactly what you are asking for, except for the sit on top part. Big opening, and some versions were even set up for fishing ("Pungo Angler" maybe?). Very stable. It even has a beer holder in front of the seat.

FYI Tractor tubes aren't often that big. https://tubeinabox.com/product/

Most adults will appreciate something in the 45" range. I got a pair of 36" and while I could float on top of it, I could really sit in it. The smaller ladies in our group were comfortable in the 36". 

I  my pungo. That said, +1 on a tube, or just whatever is cheap and big enough for you. 

I'm going to recommend you try to give them a test drive. I have a Field & Stream Eagle Run 12. It paddles great. It also puts my legs to sleep and makes my hips hurt after about an hour. 

Don't discount the beat up stuff on CL. Plastic kayaks are almost indestructible and are expected to be covered in scrapes.

Perception Dancer 9.5 ft on Craigslist was my favorite "creek" boat.

Coincidentally, probably in that very creek near Talking Rock and up and down 136 in your area. I've done gentle floats up to Class III in that boat.

crankwalk said:

Perception Dancer 9.5 ft on Craigslist was my favorite "creek" boat.

Coincidentally, probably in that very creek near Talking Rock and up and down 136 in your area. I've done gentle floats up to Class III in that boat.

No E36 M3? Are you still in the area? Property is exactly 1 mile west of the 4-lane on 136. I really want to cruise down to the "big bridge" headed to Carter's Lake SOON!!!

poopshovel again said:

crankwalk said:

Perception Dancer 9.5 ft on Craigslist was my favorite "creek" boat.

Coincidentally, probably in that very creek near Talking Rock and up and down 136 in your area. I've done gentle floats up to Class III in that boat.

No E36 M3? Are you still in the area? Property is exactly 1 mile west of the 4-lane on 136. I really want to cruise down to the "big bridge" headed to Carter's Lake SOON!!!

Moved to Alaska about 3 years but I lived in Cobb County and Hall County all my life growing up. My favorite float is the Etowah.

https://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River/detail/id/4644/

Put in off of HWY 9 near the park middle school outside of Dawsonville then get out at Kelly Bridge road at the pullout on the right. Have a separate car at the pullout and pay the  3 bucks or whatever in the box.

9 miles and 4-5 hours or so. Class I-II barely, perfect for floating with a beer or 4. Rope swings, waterfalls to the side. Abandoned Air Force bunkers littering the river in that section.

I am a fan of the smallest Jon boat that you can find. I had a 10' one that could carry 2 people and a 48 quart cooler full of ice cold "pop".  Similar to this one.

Garage sale Kayaks do work well but I find them uncomfortable after an hour or so

pheller said:

FYI Tractor tubes aren't often that big. https://tubeinabox.com/product/

Most adults will appreciate something in the 45" range. I got a pair of 36" and while I could float on top of it, I could really sit in it. The smaller ladies in our group were comfortable in the 36". 

You just don't know where to look. We had all kinds of the ones shown above from "real" tractors that were all of 6' across. A tire store that works on farm equipment or off road construction equipment would be a good place to start.

slefain said:

Tractor tire tube...

Forgot to mention that in the OP. We do have a couple inflatable chair thingies that hook together, with an inflatable cooler that attaches in the middle. Still haven't taken them out of the box. I do miss kayaking though.

Anybody mention building your own?  Google 6 hour canoe

And inflatables don't always work out well for fishing.  My buddy talked so much smack about his until we were 50 miles from anything and he put his fishing pliers through one of the main tubes.  The 6 hr is fun with kiddos too

Tubes suck for anything but lying flat on your back and staring at the clouds as the river takes you wherever it damn well pleases. Granted, that's often the goal of a float. Fishing from one would look a lot like swimming after you hooked it the first time.

A lot of the rental places are rotating out stock right now on 'yaks and canoes, and I know there are plenty of them up there. You might give some of them a call, although they often show up on CL. I have no experience with any models to offer though.