A Big Paraw

 

I've been a long time fan of the double outrigger Philippine paraw.

A project has begun in Palawan, to build a seventy two footer.  Follow

the building blog here: http://palawanparaw.wordpress.com/

 

It will be interesting to see how things scale up from the

spidery structure of the more common size of paraw.

Tamanu for Sale

A partially built Tamanu is for sale in the North Island of New Zealand.  Contact me at:
gary.dierking (at) gmail.com and I will put you in contact with the builder.

Va'a Motu plans at last

After a long delay due to a different project, I've been going full steam ahead on the plan drawings and construction manual for the 20' (6M) Va'a Motu.
The plans are now finished and ready to ship out. 
I've taken a better approach this time including over 150 construction photos with accompanying explanations. 

Canoes of the Marshall Islands

Wa Kuk Wa Jimor - Marshallese Canoes Today from Rachel Miller on Vimeo.

A fine one hour video about the importance of the canoe building tradition
in Marshallese society.  Marshallese canoes are among the very best designs
that exist in the Pacific. 

Wa'apa by Vernon Clive

Vernon Clive in the UK recently launched his 16' Wa'apa.

 

 

Radial Brailing

I'd been using this brailing line setup for a few years on my own Ulua so when Dennis Bullen asked me to make a sail, by cutting down an old genoa jib,  I installed the same system.  Grommets are placed in an arc equidistant from the tack of the sail.  The brailing line is fed in and out of the grommets and is tied off at the boom.  I had had problems with chafe on the old system especially when using synthetic line which can actually burn/wear holes in the sail.  The radial system does a better job of controlling the loose parts of the sail when partially brailed, and is less likely to chafe the sail.





Dennis is pleased with his new sail which at 100 SqFt is better suited to his 24' stretched Ulua.

Shan Skailyn

 

Geoff Husa has been working as a missionary in the mountains of Papua New Guinea where he recently completed his Wa'apa, heliported it to the coast and sailed it with two companions 90 miles to windward on the NE Papuan coast.  The amazing part is that Geoff had no sailing experience.  Well, he does now.  He's a good writer too and his blog entries leave out no details.
http://shan-skailyn.blogspot.com

The fin attached to the deck was intended to prevent the canoe from spinning while being transported by the helicopter.  It didn't work.

Ulua by Dennis Bullen

 

Newly launched, Den's 24' Ulua cranking it on out in the Manukau Harbor, New Zealand with a temporary windsurf sail.  A more crab claw styled sail is in the works, but 11 knots ain't bad for this little rig.



 

Den makes fine double bend paddles too.

 

Ready to go.

 

Look out for that rock!

 

In the beginning.

Ulua by Jeremy Eagleton

 

Jeremy Eagleton recently launched his double outrigger Ulua in Australia.

 

From The Folks Who Brought Us The Proa

Ulua by William Manuel

When I built my first strip canoe some 30 years ago, I was astounded at the beautiful creature that resulted from a bundle of sticks and some staples.  It was an empowering experience for me as it has been for William Manuel in Maui, Hawaii.   Now just add some crystal clear water and some tradewinds, to complete the experience.

Many prospective builders feel that a stripper would require more skill than what they have, however I have found that plywood hulls are more prone to serious errors than a strip planked hull. 

The Zipper Reef

 A couple of years ago I sewed in a plastic zipper on to one of my Ulua sails.  Due to the sail's geometry, conventional reefing systems don't work very well.  The zipper removed at least 25% of the area and even better, it was the upper section.  The problem I had was with my amateur sailmaking skills which resulted in a prominent ridge across the sail when the removable section was in place.  It didn't seem to hurt performance noticeably but it was ugly.  A pro sailmaker would get the tension between the fabric and zipper right and it would look much better. 
But as is, the smaller sail works really well, can handle a lot of wind, and looks great too.

Sakman Chamorro

Mario Borja and his crew in San Diego, California have constructed a 47' replica of the Flying Proa of Tinian Island that the English explorer Anson disassembled and carried back to England.  There it was reassembled and drawings were made.  Mario writes:

"Here is my finished proa. Redwood. Dimensions: 5 ft high @ beam, 47 ft long, 5600 lbs dry. Draft 18 inches. 30 ft mast. Bamboo. Started project on March 2010 and finished on March 2011. Hit 15 knots in San Diego Bay. Still working on perfecting the steering paddle. Many prototypes tested. Vertical model works the best to date. Will be undergoing calibration. Upgrading booms to fit spruce wood"

"These words written 270 years ago about the ingenious invention of our Chamorro ancestors have served to ignite the passion in our effort to bring to life the very vessel that have inspired many to date. Reading it again and again brings me share tears of pride for my culture and the gift from our ancestors. Let us read it aloud to our children as a blessing."

"These Indians are no ways defective i...n understanding, for their flying proas in particular, which during ages past have been the only vessels employed by them, are so singular and extraordinary an invention that it would do honour to any nation, however dexterous and acute, since, if we consider the aptitude of this proa to the navigation of these islands, which lying all of them nearly under the same meridian, and with the limits of the trade wind, require the vessels made use of in passing from one to the other to be particularly fitted for sailing with the wind upon the beam; or if we examine the uncommon simplicity and ingenuity of its fabric and contrivance, or the extraordinary velocity with which it moves, we shall in each of these articles, find it worthy of our admiration, and deserving a place amongst the mechanical productions of the most civilised nations where arts and sciences have most eminently flourished..." - From Lord Anson's voyage around the world - October 1742

Ulua in Puerto Rico

 

Mark Williams in San Juan, Puerto Rico recently launched

 his Ulua canoe, possibly the first with a gaff rig.

 

 

T2 by Paul Sobon

 

Paul Sobon's T2 proa PROAZAK at the Jersey shore.

 

 

Installing the hinge between the first and second deck boards allows the platform to swing up while the rig is up. This allows one to stand between the iakos and lift the whole boat at the balance point of the vaka and ama, which is about 10 inches outboard of the gunwale. The whole boat, sails, oars, paddles, etc. is about 150 lbs. so single handed launching is straightforward.



 

The dimensions of the lashcap legs and the gunwale bracket risers add up to slightly less than the depth of the iako. The gap allows the stress generated by the iakos to be born by the lashings instead of the wooden fitttings. The lashings are checked periodically and tightened once or twice a season.

 

 

Paul decided to hinge the end of the oar stanchion after two mishaps. He uses two oars when singlehanding. Twice, when sailing fast in rough conditions, the stowed non-steering oar bounced into the water. The pressure on the oar produced enough torque to tear the stanchion off the boat. Alarming to say the least.

 

And yes, it all fits on the roof racks.  Lots more photos and details here.





Wa'apa in Luebeck, Germany

 

 

 



From Christian Glockl:
"I built this 24ft-version using your plans and paddled it first in 2010. The year after that I spend equipping the "Nukunonu" with sails ... unfortunately my budget was kind of low and I wasn't too sure about my abilities of making a sail, so I took what I could get - a too stiff windsurfing sail, a mast that was too small and a small sail from a kayak. All in all the sailing abilities weren't too good, but I'm going to improve on that the coming year, especially as Johannes (the one that wrote about is Wa'apa rig on wheels) gave me some advice of how to do it.

Apart from that I'm really proud of my Wa'apa. In 2010 some friends and I did a 500-mile paddle tour with 4 persons and a lot of luggage in it down the river "Elbe" - and made it to tell the story. I'm hoping to find the time to build hollow-box Iakos and a new rig this year."