Since 1986, I've owned a 1984-vintage Dirigo 17 sea kayak. This unusual boat was made in Blue Hill ME by Dirigo Boatworks, a tiny shop begun by Elliott Speer and Peter Chase. I do not believe they had any previous experience with sea kayak design, but instead fashioned the boat based on a combination of canoe and melonseed elements modified to fit their idea of what might work as a sea kayak. The result was a 17-foot, 26 or 27-inch beam boat, shallow-vee hull, large cockpit, and pleasing lines. Heavy fiberglass layup, with attractive wood rails accentuating the boat's sheer, and a handsome wood cockpit coaming. I bought the boat as a distressed sale, and because I really liked the way it looked. The rudder was unique, in being operated by one foot only, working a custom pedal extension affixed to one of the Yakima footrests and working against a bungee cord. I quickly decided that this was a bad idea and got Dirigo to fashion a mirror-image pedal for the other footrest, and re-rigged the boat for two-footed operation. The boat had difficulty in straight-line tracking with the rudder up, so I've added both a stern and a bow skeg over the years so that my rudder use is strictly optional now. Despite its various flaws and idiosyncracies, I continue to enjoy my boat's reliability in severe conditions, and its pleasing overall appearance.

Dirigo never sold many boats, and Speer and Chase sold out to Mike Wigglesworth somewhere in the midwest, who continued with the design for some further years, before discontinuing the marque. (NOT to be confused with any of the current crop of "Dirigo" rec boats.) I've only twice encountered anyone who has ever heard of the boat, and have always been curious if there is anyone out there who shares a past with these boats? I continue to paddle mine, strictly as a winter/cold-water boat, and switch to my CLC Patuxent 17 (another extinct model) for the warmer-water seasons. Any other Dirigo 17 stories out there?