Modern sailing outrigger canoe in Hawaii, USA

Large Passenger-carrying Outrigger Canoe (bangka), Puerto Galera, Philippines

Using an outrigger or double hull configuration greatly increases the stability of the canoe, but introduces much less hydrodynamic inefficiency than making a single hull canoe wider. Compared to other types of canoes, outrigger canoes can be quite fast, yet are also capable of being paddled and sailed in rougher water.

The outrigger float is called the ama in many Polynesian and Micronesian languages. The spars connecting the ama to the main hull (or the two hulls in a double hull canoe) are called ?iako in Hawaiian and kiato in Maori (with similar words in other Polynesian languages); in Micronesian languages, the term aka is used.

History

The traditional p?pao of Tonga

Hawaiiloa, a double hull sailing canoe built as a replica of Polynesian voyaging canoes

The Polynesian Voyaging Society has two double hull sailing canoes, H?k?le?a and Hawai?iloa, and sails them between various islands in the Pacific using traditional Polynesian navigation methods without instruments.

The technology has persisted into the modern age. Outrigger canoes can be quite large fishing or transport vessels, and in the Philippines, outrigger canoes (called bangka, parao or balanghai) are often fitted with gasoline engines. The links between seafaring and outrigger canoes in the Philippines extend through to political life, in which the smallest political unit in the country still called Barangay after the historical Balanghai outrigger proas used in the original migrations of the first Austronesian peoples across the archipelago and beyond.

Modern sport use

Outrigger canoe racing has become a popular canoeing sport, with numerous clubs located around the world.

Racing outrigger canoes. The canoe in the front right, with a narrower hull and smaller body, is a single person outrigger canoe, or OC1. The other canoes are six person outrigger canoes, or OC6.

Six person outrigger canoes (or OC6) are among the most common used for sport use; single person outrigger canoes (or OC1) are also very common. Two and four person outrigger canoes are also sometimes used, and two six person outrigger canoes are sometimes rigged together like a catamaran to form a twelve person double canoe.

Modern OC6 hulls and amas are commonly made from fiberglass. However, some canoes are made of more traditional materials, such as being carved from koa tree logs in Hawaii. The ?iako are usually made of wood; the ?iako-ama and ?iako-hull connections are typically done with rope wrapped and tied in interlocking fashion to reduce the risk of the connection coming completely apart if the rope breaks.

Modern OC1 hulls and amas are commonly made from fiberglass, carbon fiber, and/or Kevlar to produce a strong but light canoe. OC1 are often made with rudders operated by foot pedals. More traditional designs do not have rudders. OC1 commonly use ?iako made of aluminum, with a mechanism for quickly assembling and disassembling the canoe (snap buttons, large wing nuts, etc.).

See also

• sailing canoe
• Ama and Aka
• Pirogue
• Proa
• Vinta

External links

• Polynesian Voyaging Society
• Takia Outrigger Canoe Club Fiji

• Northern California Outrigger Canoe Association

• World of Boats at Eyemouth ~ Outrigger Canoes:

• Tongan Pao Pao

• Fijian Proa

• Traditional Papuan Single Outrigger

• Original Outrigger Canoe (Drua) in the Fiji Museum
• An Introduction to Outrigger Canoe Paddling
• Orchid Outriggers - Experience photo tours in handmade outrigger canoes on the central coast of California.
• An interactive for kids featuring a traditional outrigger canoe commissioned by the National Museum of Australia
• Dragon Boat and Outrigger Canoe website
• "The Longest Canoe Paddle in Modern History" Article about outrigger canoe trip to the Northwest Hawaiian Islands Hawai'i. Maui No Ka 'Oi Magazine Vol. 11, No. 1 (January 2007).
• "Canoes That Carve" Article about surfing outrigger canoes Hawai'i. Maui No Ka 'Oi Magazine Vol. 11, No. 3 (May 2007).
• "Master Strokes." Article about outrigger canoe club in Hale?iwa, Hawai'i. Hana Hou! Vol. 10, No. 3 (June/July 2007).
• new hope outrigger - Complete online resource to the sport and history of outrigger canoeing.

de:Auslegerkanu fr:Pirogue à balancier it:Canoa polinesiana nl:Outrigger ja:????????? pt:Outrigger sv:Utriggare to:p?pao