What are your recommendations for a small kayak or other small boat with a small motor?

Kayaks and canoes don’t work with motors other than your arms because there is no place to mount them that will allow travel in a straight line. You may want a small row boat.

There are pedal drive and motorized kayaks by Hobie and other boat company. They are not cheap, up to $4K !

We used to take our boat to a small lake and they had rules as to what size boats and engines were allowed. You might check that out.

They don’t have a dock where you can launch without getting mud on your feet?

Take a kayak training course. This could save your life. Remember: Safety First.
Take a boater education course.
Join a kayak/canoe club.
Check out Craigslist for good deals. I see posts where people just want to get rid of their boats that they never use to make space for other toys. Free and nearly free. But you have to act quick to get the free boats.
Hobie makes a very versatile kayak that to can paddle and peddle and sail all at the same time. Or you may remove the sail and the outriggers and just paddle (with double blade kayak paddle) or just peddle. Some people on YouTube have even attached a small motor. But you don’t need the motor.

See here:
https://video.search.yahoo.com/search/video?fr=yfp-t-s&ei=UTF-8&p=hobie+adventure+island+for+sale#id=3&vid=80663d73aa8e4629862c5c1c181aeb32&action=click

I’ve been canoe an kayak paddling consistently for the last 7 years. Averaging well over 2,000 miles per year. I also sail Hobie Cat sailboats.

I recently got a second hand Seahawk 500 raft. It has a spot for a small motor attachment.
I have not used it yet, and will not use a motor.
It came with paddles. It says it is a 5 man raft, but I wouldn’t chance more than 3.

Thank you so much for the responses so far! Very helpful.

To answer some questions:

There are better places to launch, but I would have to drive to them, the one I described is right in my community and I could store the boat right by the water’s edge. The storage might be free, it might be included in my maintenance fees, I don’t know.

I would take a safety course. I assume there are classes in the area.

Part of the reason I want a motor is for safety, so if I had a reason I could not get back to shore with my own strength, I would have that as back up. My husband wants it to be lazy, lol, and treat more like something relaxing to do. I am a little concerned about being such a small craft where bigger boats are on the water. I am going to investigate how fast boats can go, and if some areas are no wake areas and maybe safer.

@zenvelo I’m not sure how he did it, but my dad put a motor on a canoe with no trouble and had no problems with it. Possibly mounted a board at the tail end of the canoe, then mounted a motor to that. It was a small trolling motor.

Lake Wylie looks perfect for kayaking. It looks like there are many public landings as well.

I kayak 9 months of the year in New England on a weekly basis.
You shouldn’t need a motor. You will get your feet wet when launching a kayak. Get some Paddling Footwear.
Once you wade out with your kayak, get in and paddle out of the shallows.

Go Paddling is a great app for kayakers that I recommend to download on your phone. I use it to find new lakes and where to put in.

Additionally Here is a depth chart of the Lake

There are new Life Vests out there also that inflate automatically with a CO2 cartridge and make it more comfortable than the old PFD’s (personal floatation device)

Have fun Paddling.

^^Thank you!