Unique Design
We do not know exactly what the original voyaging canoes that brought the first settlers to Hawaiʻi looked like but we know from both ethnographic and archeological evidence that voyaging between Hawaiʻi and the islands to the south was active between 1100 and 1300 AD. Then for unknown reasons, the two-way voyaging stopped. It was in this isolation that the Hawaiian canoe evolved into the unique form we know today.
Having no barrier reefs, the Hawaiian Islands are exposed to the direct force of the North Pacific's relentless ocean swells.
The dominant Moa'e wind (East to West trade winds) blow down the Hawaiian Island chain, making sailing a canoe from West (island of Kaua'i) to East (Hawai'i island) difficult.
These factors, along with the relatively short distances between Islands, the Hawaiian Canoe was designed primarily as a paddling canoe with a sail for auxiliary power.
Many South Pacific island canoes were designed as primary sailing vessels.
Unique Hawaiian Design Features
Early European explorers described the Hawaiian canoe as lacking the ornamentation that was common in the canoes of the South Pacific. They marveled at the workmanship on the Hawaiian canoes, describing them to "rival the best wood workers of Europe".
Below are the unique characteristics that distinguish the Hawaiian canoe from other Pacific Island canoes. While each characteristic is not necessarily in and of itself unique to Hawaii, collectively, they create a design found nowhere else.
Ka'ele: The Hull
The traditional hull was made of one piece, hollowed out from a large log. The Hull is U-shaped, lacking any real keel. The bow and stern are tapered, narrow and generally rounded. The hull is widest just to the rear of the center of the hull. There is frequently a bulge in the lower section of the hull giving the hull a calabash shape. The rounded hull is designed to glide over rough choppy seas and for launching and landing through breaking surf.
The Mua (bow) and Hope (stern) of all canoes were covered over with a finely carved end piece called the Kupe. The Kupe prevents water from spilling into the hull of the canoe while underway. The end of the Kupe is finished with an upturned end called the Manu. The Manu is designed to break through on coming waves and allow the canoe to rise up and out of rough seas.
Kupe: Bow and Stern End Covers
More on the Ka'ele
More on the Kupe
Ama:
Outrigger Float
'Iako:
Outrigger Booms
More on the "iako
More on the Ama
.The Ama was traditionally constructed out of a single piece of wood. The Hawaiian ama is gently curved with both the Lupe (forend) and the Kanaka (rear end) rising out of the water. This curved shape along with the uniquely shaped "Lupe" makes the Hawaiian ama peculiar to Hawaii. The Lupe is carved to form a cut water which reduces drag when traveling in heavy seas. The Kanaka is usually flattened on the top and left round on the underside.
'Iako are the booms of the outrigger that connect the ama (float) to the ka'ele (hull) The 'Iako are also the booms that connect the two hulls of a Wa'a Kaulua, or double canoe. The 'iako for the Wa'a Kaukahi, single canoe, are made out of Hau and extend out on the left side of the Ka'ele. The ideally shaped 'iako is arched as it extends out from the hull then curves down to where it connects directly to the ama. Hawaii is the only place in Polynesia where both 'iako are attached directly to the ama.
In other island groups the 'iako were indirectly connected to the ama by a series of smaller sticks.
Wae: Spreader
Prior to the introduction of metal tools in the late 1700's the Kupe was made in two pieces that were then lashed together. After the introduction of meatle tools the Kupe was carved in one piece.
More on Wae
The Wae are U-shaped or V-shaped blocks that span the inside of the hull and are used as tie-down points for lashing the 'iako to the hull. The wae also provides strength to the sides of the hull and allows the torque forces encountered when traveling in rough seas to be dissipated throughout the hull rather than focused on the lashing holes located in the gunwales.
Pe'a: Sail
More on the Pe'a
The Hawaiian sail is a specialized oceanic sprit sail called a "crab claw". Being three-sided with the apex at the bottom of the mast, the upper section of the sail had a U shape to it. This U in the sail serves as a kind of a safety valve, allowing wind to escape over the top of the sail, thus reducing the force that could capsize a canoe.
Moamoa:
No English term
The Moamoa is part of the Ka'ele and is a pointed protrusion that extends out beyond the end of the Kupe Hope (stern cover). It was considered the place where the guardian spirit ('Aumakua) rode when the canoe put out to sea. When the canoe log was first cut down, a knob "maku'u" was cut into the back and front ends of the Ka'ele for the attachment of hauling ropes. In the construction of the hull, the bow knob was removed but the stern Knob was refined to a point and became the Moamoa.
Kūanuenue:
'Iako for a Wa'a Kaulua
The 'iako for double canoes (more formally called Kūanueneu) are arched which allowed the Pola or platform between the hulls to ride high above the waves. Often made of 'Ōhi'a, the 'iako are finely carved and fitted to the wae of the canoe. Smaller double canoes would have two of these 'iako while larger canoe could have upwards of eight.
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Mo'o: Gunwale
Nohoana: Seat
The Mo'o are planks attached to the upper edge of the Ka'ele. This gunwale increases the freeboard of the canoe and also protects the
Canoe seats were suspended off the floor of the canoe hull and held in place on small shelves called pepeiau. This allows the paddler to tuck one foot under the seat while paddling allowing for maximized leverage for paddling.
upper edge of the Ka'ele (called Niau) of the canoe from daily wear and tear. The mo'o was seldom made out of Koa (the wood for constructed the hull) but made of other woods such as Ahakea, Kāwaʻu and ulu. The manner in which the moʻo was attached to the Kaʻele is unique to Hawaiʻi.
More on Nohoana
More on Moʻo
Types Of Hawaiian Canoes
Wa'a Kaukahi
Wa'a Kaulua
Hawaiians at the time of contact with Westerners had two types of canoes. They both shared the same design features, with the only major difference being the number of hulls. The Waʻa Kaukahi had one hull and used a stabilizing outrigger called an ama to keep it balanced. The second type was the Waʻa Kaulua which is simply a double-hulled canoe.
Generally, the Waʻa Kaukahi were smaller in length the the Waʻa Kaulua averging 18 to 35 feet long while the Waʻa Kaulua were observed by westerners rang from 30 feet long to over 60 feet long. The longest canoe hull observed by Westerners was 107 feet long and 5 feet deep.
