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.

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.

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!