Jackson Kayak Coosa

Not to bad, looks like a lot of thought went into that kayak a lot of small details and the seat looks comfy.

Pat R     

Yeah I agree. I was pretty interested. Could be a great delta river boat. that seat looks great

Looks like a stud river boat.

Thanks for posting, I hadn't seen this kayak before. I spend most of my time in rivers and that looks to be a pretty solid design. I really like the rod stagers, since I have more than a few times gotten my poles and lures caught on brush when I didn't have them secured properly. The hatch locks are a nice feature, but I really like the versitility of the seat. They did add a number of good features to this boat.

I would be a little worried about the chain drag system though. Even in the slowest rivers, chains love to wrap around things and that could be very unpleasant. Also, I'm not real happy with the day hatch. It looks a bit like the old WS design "tupperware" hatches that would get real loose over time. It just seemed like they could have made it a bit more secure. Anyway, I want to see one up close, they do look like they would be fun on a river.

Oh yeah, Drew Gregory designed this boat, isn't he the guy who was in the outstanding goose attack video? I still love that video.

sweet boat

Just wish the front hatch access was from inside of the bow (flipped 180).  Looks to be a great inland yak for those throwing different lures and doing some stand-up fishing.  "Stand-up fishing"    

Just wish the front hatch access was from inside of the bow (flipped 180).  Looks to be a great inland yak for those throwing different lures and doing some stand-up fishing.   

Oh yeah good catch. Should open the other way.

i think if the hatch opened the other way, you wouldn't be able to put rods in there. It should hinge on the side.  It looks like a pretty short boat. Or maybe that guy is really tall

I think its 11'3" and 62 lbs built like a tank to take the abuse of river fishing.

Pat R

i think if the hatch opened the other way, you wouldn't be able to put rods in there. It should hinge on the side.

I know that sucks.   

The hinge on either sides sounds like a good idea but it has to be brass coated.  Also need to take in consideration about waterproofing the front hatches locking mechanism along with the hatch fitting from open to close. 

Kraken,
We definately need to paddle this boat. It looks perfect for your typical river runs. It looks stable like the OK "drifter" but it has some decent rocker.
It was clear in the video it can be a creeker too.
This could be the boat youve been looking for.

I would be a little worried about the chain drag system though. Even in the slowest rivers, chains love to wrap around things and that could be very unpleasant.

Ive seen where guys using the chains have shrink wrapped a plastic sheath down the length of the chain to help with snagging and perhaps muffle some of that metal rubbing over plastic noise that would take the stealth out your game.

Also, I'm not real happy with the day hatch. It looks a bit like the old WS design "tupperware" hatches that would get real loose over time. It just seemed like they could have made it a bit more secure.

We can fix that too.
lets go demo

After looking more closely at the web-site , this does look interesting. California Kayak Company is a dealer in Oakland. 62 lbs is a bit heavy. Contempt prior to investigation.

Looks cool but I think 62 will be too heavy half the fun of drifting rivers is having a  lite quick boat. Defiantly warrents a test drive though.

I sent an E-Mail to them wondering when and where we could try one out got an immediate reply from Eric Jackson then VP Marty Cronin and Drew in just a few hours on Saturday. Must be a nice boat if these guys are getting excited about a SOT.

Michael, you will be happy to know that there will be coosa's heading to California canoe and kayak shortly.  I don't have a ship date at this moment, but a call into Keith Miller/owner (510) 893-7833 ) should give you a good idea.  He is open today for sure.  I have him cc'd here as well. 


This boat is stirring up a lot of interest.  It paddles moving water like a dream, does very well on flat water...  Even some fairly stiff whitewater!  Rivers like the Eel, Russian and trinity would be an amazingly cool experience.  Think of all the rivers you couldn't access for fishing before due to rapids and obstacles that ocean designed craft cant handle and you are stoked!!!  The Coosa is going to open up a lot of fishing area that was hard to access before...

Marty Cronin
VP of Sales, Jackson Kayak
303-517-2621

From Drew

Michael, it looks like Marty covered it pretty good here but I read the thread you linked to the NoCal website and I can get into some of the questions/comments that the guys had.

1.  Weight:  Well of course everyone wishes you could just build a kayak as light as you want, but it's of course not as simple as that.  A lot of the boats that folks use weren't built to handle the rougher environments of the river and that is why some of the weights are lighter.  In our mind we'd rather the boat be, say, 5-10lbs heavier and durable as opposed to light and thin, which would certainly not look good for what is supposed to be a very durable boat.  It is still manageable for one person to carry and that was our main goal.  It is plenty quick on the water to navigate rapids and the fact that it does have a nice bit of rocker will make negotiating these areas much easier. 

2.  Bow Hatch:  Few things here...1.) The hatch is not "hinged" down in any way and it can come completely off similar to the OK drifter hatch.  And, there is outfitting to where it won't float off down the river or wherever if you want to throw it off into the water while you're accessing the hatch while on the water.  So, point is that if you are on the water and need to access the hatch then you can.  Would it be easier for those rare "on the water" accessing moments if it did open the other way, yes, slightly.  However, with all the places to store tackle and rods on the deck there aren't too many times you'll have to get into that hatch while on the water, and of course most places folks fish from they can just get out and get into the hatch that way because most don't access the hatch while on the water anyway.  2.) Also, someone was correct when they noticed that the tab that goes under the locking bar (so you can lock the hatch up if you ever need to) is there and that is why it starts opening in that direction.  3.) But, then of course not everyone cares about a locking hatch so what you can do to make the hatch open very easily even while on the water is take a hacksaw and simply cut off the tab that goes under the locking bar.  Now, it opens from whatever direction you want it to. 

3.  Drag Chain Recess:  The dog leash and chain are not sold with the boat, just an option that you can add so if someone thinks they won't like or that it will get hung a lot then they simply just have to resist the urge to go to the store, get a retractable dog leash, some logging chain and install it onto the kayak.  Its a must easier urge to resist than a lot of other things in life so I am sure they can do it.  lol, All kidding aside I personally have been fishing rivers in kayaks for 9 years now and I can't live without that tool if I intend to really fish effectively.  I do use either gorilla tape or a bike innertube to cover the chain both for stealth and to make sure the chain links are closed up.  I have had a drag chain hang up on me to the point where I couldn't get it out maybe 3 times out of over 700 trips.  It rarely happens because if you do got hung you just paddle backwards the direction you came and it comes free.  If the water is too swift to do that then you had the chain released in an area you shouldn't have!  If that happens it it not a big deal really because you just sit there waddling back and forth in the current until you paddle very hard forward and the line breaks or you make sure you keep a knife or something handy and you can cut the line that way