A question for Dirigo 120 owners : the 120 doesn’t really come with a removable child seat does it? Old Town’s website says it does, but I can’t imageine that a paddler and child would fit in the smaller cockpit of the 120. Here’s the text from their website: “the Dirigo 120 is designed to be roomy enough for a parent and child, with a unique, removable kid’s seat.” ( http://www.oldtowncanoe.com/kayaks/recreation/dirigo_120.html ) I read somewhere else that the Dirigo 140 comes with the seat, which makes sense to me. Can anyone verify this for me, and if the Old Town website is correct and the 120 really does come with the child seat, how does it work? Does anyone have photos of the seat?
Thanks.
My Dirigo 120
didn’t come with a kids seat-my reading of the catalog and manual at the time led me to believe it was an option. By the way, I love my boat(although I wish it was just a little lighter!)
Technically, it’s false advertising
"child" can refer to a todller or a 10 year old pre teen. They just say “child” seat, but it’s more like baby or todler seat. I demoed a Dirigo 140, and it is a Baby seat, don’t expect to fit an actual kid in it, it’s a todller seat, but since it’s considered a child, they can trick ya with false advertising.
Heck, an 18 year old is considered a “child” by law.
tight fit
– Last Updated: Dec-08-06 2:20 AM EST –
i've never tried putting my 4 and 6 year olds in the dirigio's child seat so keep that in mind. but i've had each of them sit in the cockpit with me and the problem i had was that center cup holder thing comes down too far and makes getting in and out difficult. also, the 4 year old can sit up front fine, but the 6 year old needs to lay on his back, resting his head on my stomach, to fit and not be in the way of paddling.
if room for 2 (adult + child) is a determining factor, i'd recommend the loon 120 or 138, the adventure xl (all three have the same cockpit size,) or the perception sundance 14 (it has a bigger cockpit than the loon/adventure and fits both of my children, taken one at a time, just fine.)
i have the sundance and tried the loon and they are both very stable. i bought the sundace knowing exactly what i want from it and i've been more than happy with it.
EDIT: oops, to answer your question, i'm pretty sure the salesperson said the dirigo's child seat faces backwards, so the kid sits at the front end of the cockpit and sticks her feet in your face. can't remember for sure, tho.
OT Child seat
We have an OT 111’s with a cockpit about the size of the Dirigo 111 and use a child seat that goes inside.
If the seat is close to the same size as used in the 120 I would have to wonder where your legs would go? It would be a mighty TIGHT fit.
The seat for our 111 works great for normal sized kids 2 to 7 years. My grandson is 5 yrs., slim and about 40" tall. He likes to use a kid sized paddle but sometimes our strokes aren’t together and bang we go. We still have fun, though.
yeah, The sundance would be better
than the dirigo for children. I looked at the 12 upclose, the cockpit is VERY roomy. I think a sundance might be a better comfort.