Pe'a
The Hawaiian Peʻa is classified as a "Crab Claw" sail. A "crab claw" is defined as a triangular sail with spars along the upper(or leading) edge and a spar along the bottom (or rear) edge of the sail. Crab Claw sails are further classified as a "Fore and Aft sail Rig. Fore and Aft sails are much more efficient in sailing "to windward" than Square Rigger Sails.
The Hawaiian Pe'a or Lā, was made out of lauhala, the leaves of the Hala Tree. Strips of Lauhala were woven into a mat averaging 16 inches wide. These mat panels, called 'ie, were overlapped horizontally then sewn together to create the sail.
.The Hawaiian sail is very effective in sailing across the wind or downwind. It can sail windward at an angle of about 75 degrees off the wind. The round hull of the Hawaiian canoe however allows for significant lee drift. Early explorers describe Hawaiians frequently paddling their canoes while under sail, especially when trying to sail to windward. Paddling while under sail allowed the canoe to travel higher to windward and reduced the lee drift significantly. Paddling while under sail makes the paddling much easier. It can also increase the canoe's windward ability, making between 40 to 45 degrees off the wind.
Herb Kawainui Kane
Within ten years of the arrival of Westerners in Hawai'i, the traditional Hawaiian Sail was largely replaced with Western cloth sails and Western "booms" and "spars"...
Modern Canoe Under Sail
Prior to Western contact the Hawaiian Sail had a fixed mast that was set slightly forward of the forward 'iako. The sail was attached directly to the mast. To drop the sail the entire sailing rig had to be lowered. Today, a Manahiki Island sail rig has been adopted in which the mast remains stationary while the spar carrying the sail is raised and lowered. This allows the sail to be dropped quickly and without having to take down the entire sailing rig.
Historical note: Hawaiian Launguage expert Kaliko Beamer Trapp tends to believe that the term Peʻa, which is the dominent term for sail today is a more recent term for sail. Peʻa actually means a cross, like an X or Christian cross. Kaliko suggests that after contact the term Peʻa may have been used to describe the square rigger sails on Western ships. As the traditonal Hawaiian crab claw sail or Lā became less used and the mordern Western type sails became more dominent, Peʻa became the dominent word for a canoe or shipʻs sail
Below are the traditional names of the parts of the Hawaiian Sail.
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More Details On The Hawaiian Sail
How A Sail Works
Attaching Paepae to Kia