06-02-2008, 03:56 AM
Here's a project that may interest some.
A wa'apa, or "three plank canoe" is an outrigger sailing canoe used throughout the pacfic and indian oceans as the primary workhorse for fishing, transportation, and small cargo carry. They are cheap, fast and easy to build if you know the tricks, are seaworthy, lightweight and very portable(some completely break down) and are rugged enough for beach landings. They as well are very fast under sail, most will make 10 knots or better with easy, will scull or paddle readily, and the wimpiest 2 horse outboard will push them at near hull speed in flat conditions. In the "developed" pacfic, like Hawaii, they've all but been lost to large outboard powered craft and recreational boats, and sail has more or less vanished, but at this moment it seems fitting to re-introduce this proven technology. So, there's one sitting in my yard at this moment--on its way to being completed. I'll post some pictures when I've got them.
There is a real need to preserve working sailing craft in this world, and unfortunately that's seldom been the case. More often, the foundations and groups that do preservation work are more or less interested in preserving the "canoes of the kings" and such other really pointless craft, while those real functional and valuable everyday boats, and the skills to use them, get lost. That's a real shame, especially in Hawaii with no end in sight to rising fuel costs --sail is the only PROVEN alternative energy out there, and we may in the very near future re-awaken to its value.
A wa'apa, or "three plank canoe" is an outrigger sailing canoe used throughout the pacfic and indian oceans as the primary workhorse for fishing, transportation, and small cargo carry. They are cheap, fast and easy to build if you know the tricks, are seaworthy, lightweight and very portable(some completely break down) and are rugged enough for beach landings. They as well are very fast under sail, most will make 10 knots or better with easy, will scull or paddle readily, and the wimpiest 2 horse outboard will push them at near hull speed in flat conditions. In the "developed" pacfic, like Hawaii, they've all but been lost to large outboard powered craft and recreational boats, and sail has more or less vanished, but at this moment it seems fitting to re-introduce this proven technology. So, there's one sitting in my yard at this moment--on its way to being completed. I'll post some pictures when I've got them.
There is a real need to preserve working sailing craft in this world, and unfortunately that's seldom been the case. More often, the foundations and groups that do preservation work are more or less interested in preserving the "canoes of the kings" and such other really pointless craft, while those real functional and valuable everyday boats, and the skills to use them, get lost. That's a real shame, especially in Hawaii with no end in sight to rising fuel costs --sail is the only PROVEN alternative energy out there, and we may in the very near future re-awaken to its value.
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