AUGUSTA — Schack’s Yaks, a kayak rental service in New Richmond, Ohio, has officially opened a self-serve kayak kiosk at the boat ramp in Augusta after several weekends of temporary availability.

Christopher Schack, the owner of Schack’s Yaks, said the company initially became affiliated with Augusta in 2020 when Augusta’s Tourism Director Janet Hunt contacted him after seeing a post advertising a kayak service.

Soon after Hunt reached out to Schack, he received an offer from New Richmond, Ohio to open a fully operational shop in place of the mobile kiosks they had been operating out of. Schack said they wanted to continue offering services to Augusta, but it was difficult to be set up full-time.

He noted that, although Schack’s Yaks would bring a kiosk to Augusta some weekends to service the community, there were several times that community members who wanted to utilize the service were out of town or couldn’t rent a kayak that weekend.

Schack said he wanted to be able to offer a full-time service to Augusta that would allow his business to be operated in more than one location without traveling back and forth. He said he began researching ways to achieve his goal in recent months.

According to Hunt, Schack approached her with the idea of a self-serve kiosk in the spring. She went on to present the idea to the Augusta City Council and they came to the conclusion that the kiosk would be good for Augusta.

“We all agreed that this would be a great opportunity for tourism and outdoor adventures for our locals and visitors. After working together and planning, the kiosk was officially open on Monday, Sept. 5, 2023, and will close in November,” Hunt said.

Schack added that the kiosk is available seasonally. He said he hopes to move the kiosk to different communities to see where there is a high interest in the operation. If the kiosk does well, a community could potentially get a permanent, structured kiosk.

“This is the first kiosk kayaking in Augusta and as far as Chris Schack knows, this is the first Northern Kentucky kayaking kiosk, so Augusta is excited to be the first, we think, to offer this Awesome Outdoor Adventures,” Hunt said.

She went on to discuss the self-serve kayak kiosk’s operation. Hunt said, that although there is no person on-site to assist customers, there is a number on the kiosk to call Schack’s office. Schack will be able to help a person through the procedures of the rental service.

Hunt noted that rentals must be loaded onto an app for payment and time slots. To rent a kayak, community members can download the app Koloni on their cell phone, Schack said.

He said customers can scan a QR code at the kiosk to pay for the rental after downloading the app.

“The Augusta Boat Dock offers a variety of tourism opportunities: boaters, family and friends gatherings for picnics, walking, fishing. So now the Kiosk Kayaking is adding another opportunity for tourism,” Hunt said. “This is an outdoor tourism adventure, kayakers will kayak on Bracken Creek, which it is a natural scenery. Augusta now how 16 Airbnbs within the city limits, this will be another local attraction opportunity for our Airbnb guests to enjoy the outdoors with kayaking.”

The first hour of a kayak rental is $15, according to Schack’s Yaks Facebook page. Every hour after that is $10 per hour.

Schack said each kayak rental comes with a kayak, a paddle, and a universal life vest. He noted that a 13-year-old could wear the same life jacket as a 54-year-old, due to universal sizing.

According to Schack, there are two fishing rod holders on each kayak. He said each kayak has a weight limit of 275 pounds.

The kiosk is available every day of the week from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Augusta boat ramp.

To learn more about Schack’s Yaks, please visit the business on Facebook or https://schacksyaks.com/.

To contact Schack’s Yaks, please call 513-718-8548.