item details
Overview
This is 1:35 scale model of a wa'a kaulua, a vessel designed as a sailing and paddling canoe and used for travel between islands in the Hawaiian archipelago. Wa'a kaulua were the main type of double canoe in pre-European Hawai'i. They were crewed and paddled by many men but were also sailed throughout the islands in the archipelago. By the early twentieth century, wa'a kaulua were virtually non existent.
Construction
The two long hulls of wa'a kaulua were constructed from the trunk of the koa tree, the favoured timber for building canoes. Both were similar in size and shape, with one slightly longer than the other. They were joined by a series of unusual curved cross-beams that provided support for a deck and shelter. The hulls were pointed at both ends and symmetrical in section. They had open hatches in them to allow provisions to be stored and people to shelter. There was also a rectangular shelter on the deck covered in pandanus leaves arranged like thatching, with a small square entrance at its midpoint. The shelter rested in the middle of the deck between the two hulls.
Sails and masts
The triangular sail was made from long strips of pandanus cloth that had been sewn together. The strips ran horizontally. The sail was fitted to a single mast braced by a number of ropes. The loose edges were fixed to an upward curving boom. The tops of the mast and boom were decorated with streamer-like tell tales (wind direction indicators). Ropes on board were made from coconut fibre cord or other types of plant fibre.