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A Three Board Canoe
In the late 1800's, when sawn lumber began to appear in Hawaii and other Pacific islands, the local canoe builders immediately saw it as an easier way to build canoes. While perhaps slightly less efficient than round bottom shapes they have now become the standard working canoe seen throughout the Pacific. The first models were simply built of three wide planks and came to be known as "three board canoes" or wa'apa in Hawaiian.
I built a 16'er in the 70's that unbolted in the center for easier stowage onboard my cruising trimaran. It proved to be a useful dinghy and a fun sailer for exploring. This design is similar in shape but allows for a center section to be added which stretches it to 24'. The 24'er seats four crew, and can be sailed as a tacking outrigger or a shunting proa.
The Wa'apa can be built as a one piece hull to save weight, but one of its prime advantages is that no hull or ama section is longer than 2.4 meters (8 ft). It can be built, stored and transported in a small space. The three section main hull and a two piece plywood ama only require six sheets of 6mm (1/4") plywood. The hull sides and ama can be built with 4mm plywood to save weight.
The construction plans for the Wa'apa outrigger canoe include three large sheets containing full size patterns for the bulkheads, stem, and ama panels. All of the construction details and four optional sailplans are printed on additional sheets and are also contained on a CD in the form of PDF files which allow you to zoom in on details. The written building procedure also has additional drawings and is in PDF format. Thirty photographs document the construction of the prototype.
Optional stub-mast rig allows greater sail area with a standard windsurf spar.
Here is a list of the PDF documents included (and a couple of free samples):
All drawings are dimensioned in both Imperial and Metric units
Charles Loiselle's 16 ft Wa'apa with an shunting Oceanic lateen rig
Charles Loiselle's 16 ft Wa'apa with an shunting Oceanic lateen rig
Construction Photo Gallery
(click images for larger views)
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