I use a boat to get to my hunting land all season. It has never spooked the deer as they are use to the sound of motors on the lake. When hunting public land this can make a big difference b/c not many people can gain access to that particular piece of property that is water locked. I would highly recomend trying it. I know a guy that uses a blow up raft from wal-mart w/ a canoe paddle. Sounds silly but it works. A river would be different though b/c it would be much shallower than a lake w/ many more potential snags