The artist and builder

This feels like selling a puppy! :) I had a great deal of fun working on this project. Even more fun was had when we were able to take it out fishing! My sincere hope is that a project like this will inspire the creation of more traditional canoes here in beautiful Hawai'i.

Video of my traditional outrigger canoe

Walking around the canoe before I deliver it to it's new home on Saturday.

The outrigger

This outrigger is so light, I can pick it up easily with one hand. The total length is 8 feet and it provides a tremendous amount of balance.

Outrigger canoe paddles

These are two examples of the paddles I make. The white and red paddle is made of monkey pod and beautiful curly koa. (For a closer look please click on the image to enlarge it.) The design is Papua New Guinea inspired. The other paddle is made entirely out of maple. Notice the beautiful quilted pattern! I picked this piece of wood up when I was visiting Costa Mesa last month! I couldn't leave the store without it!

A final walk around before I deliver the canoe this weekend!

The outside finish is spar varnish over burnt black wood. The inside of the hull is treated for termites and sealed with a rosewood stain. All the rigging is natural fiber rope that was soaked in water for 30 minutes before installation...as the rope dried in place it shrank...making a very tight lashing. I also applied an aggressive application of water sealer on all the rigging. The outrigger is guava wood and the float is wiliwili.

I am delivering the canoe on Saturday!

This canoe sold on the first day it was posted...Friday of last week. I have spent the last 3 days getting it ready. The inside hull was treated for termite prevention then with a rosewood stain, the outrigger components were aggressively treated with a water sealer, I lightly sanded and varnished the outside of the hull and replaced all the rigging with a natural fiber rope. The rope was soaked in water for 30 minutes before installation...this will cause the rope to shrink and tighten as it dries.
This was an extremely rewarding project and I am looking forward to starting my next wa'a in the very near future.

Installing the outrigger!

Special thanks to my friend James from Vanuatu for helping me out! We sharpened guava sticks and hammered them into the wiliwili, much like driving in a nail. This is a very traditional method used all over the Pacific.

Walking around the canoe to show the carvings.

Using knife and chisel, I carved a Papua New Guinea inspired design around the entire canoe! The scorched black finish over a white wood made for a very dramatic result! Fun project!

Burning out the canoe

I decided to burn the canoe black. This is a very old way of clearing out the hull of a traditional canoe. As long as the fire is controlled, it is very effective!

Pictures on how the canoe was made.

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The experience was amazing from start to finish! In true island style I decided to construct the canoe in the very location where I cut down the tree. Having to cut a pathway to the canoe site, construct a tent and go to work every day in the bush was a very powerful thing. Thanks to all of you who came to visit me, to cheer me on, while I worked on this project.

Why I decided to build a traditional canoe.

As an artist I am always looking for the perfect 'blank canvas' on which to execute my art. My motifs are focused on 'Celebrating Pacific art and culture'. The outrigger canoe, the wa'a, te vaka...Wow!!!! I can't think of a better way to 'celebrate' the fact that this is Polynesia! I hope others agree...I would love to see more traditional canoes out in the waters around Hawai'i. The traditional wa'a is an island mark that instills a level of pride, culture and tradition that a plastic or fiberglass canoe falls short of. It rings true for most everyone. Not just the people here in the islands, not just the Polynesians but even for the tourist who happens to see it, even they recognize that it is special.
All of this was confirmed in me when I put it in the water the other day! James, my good friend from Vanuatu, and I went fishing out of Reeds bay in Hilo. To sit in a 'traditional' canoe and paddle around in the waters that was once filled with with similar crafts...to hear the water lap up against the sides of the hull as we moved out towards the break wall...to see the onlookers recognize that this was different...to see James' face, proud and happy to be in a canoe that his people have been building for thousands of years was a very special experience.
This canoe is a celebration of Pacific roots! I am putting it up for sale because my intention is to make more. To get more people involved. To see more traditional canoes in the waters. To make clear the fact that this is the Pacific and we build canoes!