2 weeks and no shipping confirmation. I am going to ask my bank to get my money back.read more

From the owner: The Dabbling Duck Charters LLC’s mission is to provide a relaxing, fun, safe and memorable way for…read morefamilies to experience Center Hill Lake and its beautiful scenery by chartered boat with an experienced tour guide. We offer sunset cruises, waterfall excursions, and lake cruises. We are committed to providing great service to a diverse, passionate group of customers. The best way for us to achieve this is by providing our customers with a comprehensive boating experience through safety, value added services and by giving them the memories they will always cherish.

This is the best lake in TN hands down! One of the cleanest in the United States and very deep…read more It's not filled with debris like some others in the middle Tennessee area and it has quite a few wonderful campgrounds/RV parks, for those who would like to travel here. The "city" of Smithville isn't exactly a booming place to be... Mostly closed or old buildings - very small, and unless you're camping, I wouldn't stay in the immediate area. But once you get to the lake, it's amazing! The campgrounds are well kept and fairly large. The lake itself winds around, snake-like, with cove after cove to play in or soak up the sun in. You want privacy? You got it! You want wakes? You have that too! The fishing must be outstanding considering the many tournaments they have there. My husband and I live closer to two other lakes, but we drive just over an hour to come to this one. We can't say enough great things about it!

Beautiful state park! Highly recommended for a relax hike and for great scenery. Parking is limitedread more

This is Burgess Falls, another state park located in Central Tennessee sitting 12 miles northwest…read moreof the town of Sparta, TN. There's a 3/4 of a mile out and back hike called the River Trail that leads to 4 different waterfall lookout points comprising Burgess Falls SP. Waterfall #1 - The Cascades. Sort of the introduction area to the park. Waterfall #2 - First Falls. A quick glance at a 30 foot high waterfall section. But nothing special, imo. When Continuing on the trail, you'll cross over a wooden bridge and follow up a staircase. Now at... Waterfall #3 - Middle Falls... Middle Falls is 80 feet high and partially obstructed by trees and branches having grown over time. *Side Note*.... I wish park services would do some forest cutting for everyone to enjoy clearer views of the park's waterfalls. Entrance right now is free. I'd suggest charging a small fee and using that money to pay for some grooming. A lot of the observation points can't be fully appreciated. Just me venting a little, lol. Waterfall #4 - Burgess Falls... Burgess falls is the centerpiece highlight of the park. Standing at 136 feet from top to bottom, Burgess Falls can absolutely be dramatic, but still natural excess forest maturation disrupts full visibility of the falls. I did read that kayaking at the bottom of Burgess Falls is the most interactive way to come face to face with this statuesque waterfall. You can rent kayaks at Cane Hollow Recreation Area, located at the end of Cane Hollow Road. It's about 10 minutes from Burgess Falls. You can end the River Trail hike at the Top of Burgess for a panoramic overlook of the rugged gorge the falls splash down into from high above. It's another quick stop and go area before returning back towards the trailhead. Overall, Burgess Falls was a muted experience for me, but still has potential to be a rewarding visit if park authorities can maintain the inevitable growing forest hindrances that negate special moments at the waterfall overlooks.

Worst boating experience EVER!! Don't waste your money but more importantly, do NOT waste your…read moretime. When we called to get rental pontoon boat I asked how old their boats were.... was told they were new. Well, yes -- they are new.... NEW TO THEM. We were put on the most ridiculous boat EVER, it was AT LEAST 30 years old. Manager came out to show us how to start the engine and had to show us "important" features of the boat. That pretty much included..... start the boat every 30 mins so it will keep running. What to do if it doesn't start....etc. etc. After numerous times of the owner trying to get the boat to start at the rental place, it wouldn't start -- we should have known then to RUN!! My husband was ready to leave after our tutorial, but said he didn't want to ruin our day since we were there to celebrate birthdays. Anyway, we followed them down to the boat dock, got it loaded and away we went..... unbeknownst to us, in a boat that took over 45 mins to start on several occasions AND without an anchor AND with zero ropes to tie off to a dock! After spending over an hour at the marina trying to get it to start, we called them to come pick it up after spending less than 3 hours on it and over 3/4 of the time was spent trying to get it to start. So if you want to rent a jalopy and look like Clark Griswold on Center Hill Lake, then this is the boat place for you to go.

Is your ideal July 4th spent on a cool, mountain river? Are you looking to cool off on a hot summer…read moreday? The Caney Fork River is about 1 hour east of Nashville, TN and is the perfect spot for a quick day trip. We used the CanoeTheCaney.com service from JBeez Watercraft in Silver Point, TN and were very pleased. This is not the closest place to the river, but it is conveniently located one mile from I-40 at Exit 273. JBeez has modern, air conditioned buses that take you from their location to the drop-off point just below Center Hill Dam. They also pick you up 5 miles down river and shuttle you back to your vehicle. The staff is very friendly and their process is fairly efficient for a "laid back" canoe rental service. The Caney Fork River is just an awesome place to spend the day. Since the water is generated from the bottom of Center Hill Lake, the river stays a cool 54 degrees year round. This makes it perfect for place to cool off on those hot summer days and a great place for trout fishing. If you arrive early to the Happy Hollow pick-up, it is not a problem. This is a nice shallow spot on the river for you to spend a few minutes splashing around while waiting for your ride. We really enjoyed our family visit to the Caney Fork on July 4th this year...Thank you JBeez!

Andy is a true pro and a great guy to spend a day in the boat with. He's got good gear and great…read moreknowledge of the water. Like fishing with an old friend.

From the owner: Fly Fishing Guide in Middle Tennessee specializing in Trout Float Trips down the Caney Fork River. read more

We rented a pontoon this week from Hidden Harbor and were so pleased with the service. The crew in…read morethe marina was beyond helpful in assisting us with our supplies and inflating our floats, all with a smile. We will be back!

I booked a 24" pontoon for Father's Day & it was an absolutely wonderful experience, from start to…read morefinish! I inquired online and was called back within a day or two (can't recall). I put down a $100 deposit and received a confirmation email (and a reminder email a couple of days before the trip). Upon check in, the staff was very thorough & helpful. They brought a golf cart up the hill to help with our large cooler, unloaded all of our stuff into the boat & showed the "captain" everything he needed to know. They were also very helpful with unloading and instructions to park it so they could fill up on gas, etc. We tried tipping the older gentleman who was helping all the customers but he requested I give it to the high school boy who was driving the golf cart. Such nice people and all very appreciative of our business. We will be back for sure! The actual lake was so clean and gorgeous, very little traffic. It was the first time in my life I was comfortable swimming in a lake because I could see down at least 10 feet! This experience was all around excellent and we will be back soon to rent another boat and take it out for the day. (Also, the cost is about $100 less than in Nashville, depending on the boat, where the lakes are crowded and not clean) Couple of things I forgot: They also helped fit our 7 year old for a kids life jacket and opened up our personal tubes and inflated them for us, free of charge. They also have a nice store with drinks, snacks, all sorts of other necessities and accessories for the lake and camping.

This was a great time. We live outdoor activities so the nature was great. Let me explain why the 3…read morestars then... They are not really on time with their check in and dropping off schedules. We were told we needed to be there 30 minutes before our 11am departure. We got on the bus after 11:15 and it's a 20 minutes drive to the drop off area. Jennifer was great. It was her first day and she was killing it like a pro. They get us to sign the release forms if you didn't do it online then you go inside to get your wristbands and make you payment if needed. They offer boat and other water toys for rent. Once we were inside, McKenzie was nice and helpful. She took our payment and gave us our wrist bands. After that we wait till the groups are ready and things where they need to improve. People that are ready and came on time should not have to wait and lose time on the river. Specially when they are VERY on time to pick you up at 5pm sharp. ... They need improvement, they know it... they are trying. They have an app you can download but good luck with service IMPORTANT warning information given in the "training": It's illegal to operate a canoe while drinking alcoholic drinks. They will give you a BUI (Boating Under the Influence) so be safe and always bring a designated captain or a pirate or both! Whatever floats your boat So, overall it's not a bad spot but definitely come as they open so you don't feel rushed or shorted out of time. Stay safe!

Went last Tuesday for the short (1-3 hour) kayak trip…read more Couple of pro tips. First, if there aren't any generators going, the water levels can be low in areas and the flow is slow. So your trip will take closer to 2-3 hours, without stopping somewhere for a picnic lunch. Which will be possible since there are plenty of places where it is easy to beach yourself and take a break. Second, bring lots of sunscreen. And even so, consider a long sleeve sun shirt and possibly something for your legs. There were no bugs to speak of (we started around 11:30 AM and finished 6.3 miles later at 1:30 PM) Our weather was in the high 80s and mostly sunny, so bring plenty to drink. There aren't any places to purchase anything along the way, so plan accordingly. They have a good selection of snacks and drinks at the store and don't provide anything on the 30-45 minute rides to the Caney and back. The trip was serene. We saw a couple of herons, a raccoon and some muskrats or perhaps river otters. And some hawks, but not the bald eagles. Another couple saw some deer, but we instead saw the infamous river cows. Anyway, we enjoyed it and though we aren't as young as we once were, getting back to nature helped transport us to younger days we spent in the outdoors.

Let me start by saying we have always been fans of Rich Marine until today. We bought our pontoon…read morefrom Jason at Rich Marine and have only ever serviced our boat at their shop. Even though they are absolutely not convenient to where we live. It's about 2hrs away. Well this year when our boat was damaged we decided the only place we wanted to take it was to Rich Marine. They were definitely not the cheapest quote we received but knowing the past work we said we didn't want anyone but them touching it. So after 3 months we finally got our boat back today. I picked it up from Jason and drove it home. I didn't even look it over because I didn't need to as usually they are great at what they do. Well that was my first mistake. I got it home and back in the garage and decided to check out all the work and upgrades we had done. I noticed in multiple spots where they performed work there were small damaged spots. Some are holes in the seats. Others are almost tears across the seats but damaged nonetheless. Then there was blood on one seat and they couldn't even be bothered to remove marker writing all over the panel they installed. I decided I would call Jason and just have a conversation and little did I know how he was going to respond. He told me there was no way they did this and only he worked on my boat and he took extra good care of it and it was impossible that it was them. (Btw this work is impossible to do alone and requires 2 people so that's not true). Now keep in mind our boat is 4years old since purchased new from him. We take only the best care to insure towels are put down on seats and people are respectful of our boat. This boat only goes out once-2Xs a year. It sits covered in the garage otherwise. When we brought it to Jason we made sure it was clean and I can guarantee you we had no holes in our upholstery. Jason accepted no responsibility for this damage and that's unfortunate after spending over 20k in repairs and upgrades. I'm not saying you shouldn't buy here or service your items here but I will make sure anyone who's thinking about it knows our experience.

We met Jason, Danielle and their daughter at the 2019 Nashville Boat Show. After speaking with…read moremost of the pontoon dealers represented at the boat show, we decided that having a dealer, with a competent service department, close to Dale Hollow Lake is what we needed. Once we returned home, we made an appointment to visit Jason at Rich Marine on Spring Street in Cookeville. They had recently relocated to this location! The boat yard looked like most boat yards! Their service area was very clean and well kept. We traded in our 2011 Crest Pontoon Boat on a 2019 Sun Chaser 22' Geneva Sport with a 150 h.p. Yamaha outboard motor. Jason answered all of our questions related to the boat, motor and accessories before and during our purchase. John, one of the certified mechanics, delivered our boat to Mitchell Creek Marina on one of the nicer days in February. On delivery day, John went over, in detail, all of the controls, switches, safety equipment and all of the other items that were included. He was very knowledgeable and answered all of our questions. Although the air temperature was a 'little cool', the sun was shinning and we essentially had the lake to ourselves. Since we intend to leave the boat in a covered slip, at Mitchell Creek, we did not purchase a trailer. We decided it will be easier to hire Rich Marine to haul our boat, if it needs to be moved. Another huge benefit is that Rich Marine is planning to have a SERVICE BOAT on Dale Hollow Lake this summer. We do not plan to have any problems! However, if we do, they will be close at hand! Overall, Jason, Amy (the Office Manager) John and Shawn are GREAT TEAM to work with.