HOW TO CARVE A CANOE MODEL: A step-by-step guide.

I am often asked how I carve my canoe model.

Well, let's start with the beginning...

Thirty-five years ago, I thought that a DREMEL, that famous electrical rotary tool, would do the trick. It worked... albeit very slowly, spending more time changing the 1/2-inch drum sander, and if sanding over a gnarl or burl in the piece of koa, the sanding drum would leave burn marks and smoke. I use koa wood of course, for all my Hawaiian canoe models.

Honestly, the DREMEL is a very handy tool for small jobs, but certainly not to carve out a 36-inch-long canoe hull.

The next-best tool is the FOREDOM, the "heavy-duty Dremel"!

It is an expensive tool, but it is worth the money. Powered by a 1/6 HP motor turning at 18,000 rpm, a long flex shaft ending with an interchangeable handpiece that comes with 3/32" and 1/8" collets.

More to follow….

AHEAD OF THE CURVE: HOW ANCIENT SAMOANS INVENTED THE CUTWATER,

Amongst the many types of canoes built across Oceania, one particular type stands out: the Samoan canoe

The tufuga fau va’a (Samoan master canoe builder) built the most beautiful canoes, often imitated and only equaled by the Fijian carpenters. The lines of those vessels are extremely fine and perfect, like some elongated equal triangle starting amidship towards the bow and the stern.

Note the extremely tapered shape, front and back of the canoe. It was made for speed.

Other characteristics make the Samoan canoe exceptional, and I am thinking here in particular of the VA’A ALO fishing canoe .

The Va'a alo, like the SOATAU, the AMATASI , the double-hulled VA’A TELE, and KALIA were all plank-built, meaning that planks were used to create the hull of the vessel.

The canoes of Tuamotu, Easter Island, Tahiti in Polynesia, Kiribati and Nauru in Micronesia, and the Solomon Islands in Melanesia are built from assembled wooden pieces. But their method of assembly is quite primitive; it is the method of lashing "through and through."

A plank-built Samoan fishing canoe at the New-Zealand Museum Tepapa collections.

This 32 inch model I built in 2012 was entirely plank-built.

The Samoan carpenters perfected this technique, and it is likely they who developed the method of internal ligatures, or invisible lashings called TAFASI. I have used that procedure on the VA’A ALO model canoe I built in 2012 for the Four Seasons Hotel Resort at Manele Bay, Lanai.

Clearly visible are the "hidden" interior and exterior lashings of the gunwales. There are 5 sets of exterior hidden lashings per side and 18 interior hidden lashings per side.

Wallis, Tonga, and Fiji adopted this method later on.

While the above islands assembled the planks forming the canoe's hull with hidden lashings, Hawaii used hidden lashings to add the gunwales to the top edge of the hull.

There is another major particularity that makes the Samoan canoe different from all the other canoes built, whether in Polynesia, Micronesia, or Melanesia, and this is how the vertical forward edge of the bow was concave, resembling the open mouth of a shark. The Samoan literally invented the CUTWATER, a shape that slices through the water, allowing for less resistance and increasing speed. Today, modern vessels feature engineered bows that serve the same hydrodynamic purpose.

The cutwater or forward-end of this Wa’aalo canoe model.

INSPIRED BY ANCIENT CANOES

In a previous post, I mentioned some building characteristics of the HIKIANALIA seem to have been inspired from those on the Tahitian and Samoan canoes.

Let’s take the example of the rearward edge of the stern of Hikianalia and all of the other identical vessels built by Salthouse boatbuilders in Auckland, New Zealand, like the Samoan GAUALOFA, the Tahitian FA’AFAITE, and a few others constructed to revitalize traditional Polynesian celestial navigation, it is similar to the one illustrated in the watercolor by Capt. Henry Byam Martin, drawn around 1846-47, a senior Royal Navy officer and a watercolor artist, while stationed in Tahiti and the Society Islands during that year

Watercolor by Capt. Henry Byam Martin, 1846-1847. Note the shape of the stern on this Tahitian canoe.

The stern of the Hikianalia

Now, let's look at the forward-most vertical edge of the HIKIANALIA bow,  in that case, at the GAUALOFA bow, which is identical to the HIKIANALIA, it is curved or concave. This is the cutwater. Its primary purpose is to break the water’s surface tension, allowing the vessel to slice through the waves more efficiently, basically to create a major hydrodynamic effect.

The cutwater or forward-most , vertical edge of bow on this Gaualofa canoe, which is identical to the Hikianalia

The cutwater on this old Samoan va’a aloa fishing canoe

THE EXTRAORDINARY CANOE DRAWINGS BY DAVID PAYNE

One cannot neglect to mention David Payne when researching Papua New Guinea's canoes.

David Payne is the former Curator of History Vessels at the Australian National Maritime Museum. Retired in 2020. He is a maritime historian and boat designer. He has extensively researched bark canoes in South-East Australia and outrigger canoes in Papua New-Guinea.

In 2017, David joined British and Australian anthropologists working in Southern Papua New-Guinea, researching cultural traditions along the south coast and offshore in the Louisiade Archipelago. His job was to document the canoes used in that area and to produce technical drawings of them.

When I first set eyes on his exquisite drawings, I immediately made a connection to those of John Webber, an English artist who accompanied Captain Cook on his third Pacific expedition. He is best known for his images of Australasia, Hawaii, and Alaska.

'Canoe of the Sandwich Islands, the Rowers Masked', by John Webber, c. 1778.

Edmond Paris, French Admiral and naval engineer, known for his extensive sketches and studies of boats and canoes during voyages on his ships, like l' Astrolabe and La Favorite.

CAROLINE ISLANDS, YAP OR SANTAWAL PRO. DRAWING BY FRANCOIS-EDMOND PARIS

I was also thinking of Jules Dumont d'Urville, another French explorer and naval officer who explored the South and Western Pacific around 1825, leaving us with many canoe drawings.

MAORI CANOE ( BREAM BAY) BY JULES DUMONT D’ URVILLE

A Kalia canoe by Jules Dumont d’Urville

The canoe drawings of David Payne are of a class on their own.

Tadobu canoe by David Payne.

Extremely detailed, beautiful, and artistic.

THE STEERING PADDLE

Ever since building my first Hokule'a model in 1993, I have been intrigued by how the vessel's steering paddle is mounted and lashed. I asked myself whether this was really the way ancient canoe builders fitted the steering paddle in this fashion.

I am sure as well that those like the late Kawainui Kane , Tommy Holmes, and others involved in the proposal to build Hokule'a, must have pondered how to fix and operate that steering paddle on a double-hulled canoe. There is scant literature available about this topic.

Amongst the seventy-six boat and canoe drawings executed by Francois-Edmont Paris, French Admiral and naval engineer, after circumnavigating the world on board the Astrolabe, and published in 1843, there is the drawing of the steering paddle used on the Tuamotu double-hulled canoe. Although the drawing is very faint and simple, it would however, lend credence as to the way the steering paddle is mounted on contemporary voyaging canoes. It clearly shows the paddle lashed onto what seems to be a boom.

There is no doubt that the present way the steering paddle is mounted on the Hokule'a, the Hikianalia, and all those other double-hulled canoes built across Oceania has been “sea tested”. I would love to read comments about this subject.

MO'OLELE OR REVERSE ENGENEERING

Bulding a scale model from scratch without physical plans is always a feat of “reverse engineering” whereby I have to admit that building the MO’OLELE was fairly simple compared now to having to build the HIKIANALIA .

In 2022, I accepted a commission to build a scale replica of the Maui-built Hawaiian canoe, MO’OLELE. This project presented a unique challenge; I had no physical access to the vessel and no existing architectural plans to guide me.

Drawing on decades of research into Oceanic canoes and added experience building canoe models, I was able to reconstruct the primary lines of the hull using comparative design. To determine the exact ratios for the beam and mast height, I used the known length of the canoe as a mathematical baseline.

By analyzing videos, I identified the characteristics that make the MO’OLELE unique- from the specific curvature of the spreaders to the shape of the Mo’olele (Flying lizard) carving that gives the vessel its name.

Mo’olele canoe model built by the author

HIKIANALIA

I have recently accepted a commission to build a 36 inch long replica of HIKIANALIA, the sister vessel of HOKULE’A.

This project presents once again a unique challenge: HIKIANALIA is currently in Aotearo, New-Zealand, so no way to go on board unless my customer offers me a plane ticket to fly to New Zealand to visit the vessel! This has not been in the cards, but to ensure the highest level of technical accuracy, I have to begin with a few days of exhaustive review of hundreds of pictures and videos available on various social platforms to map every detail of the vessel.

This reminds me of the days researching TAMA MOANA. Actually there are some technical similarities between TAMA MOANA and HIKIANALIA.

Before final construction begins, I will complete a scale mock-up of the hull to verify that the lines and proportions perfectly mirror the original vessel.

The news very regularly mentions that Hikianalia is a replica of a Polynesian Voyaging canoe. I have to admit, it perturbs me when that is said.

Hikianalia has all the characteristics of modern catamarans, which are considered a direct evolution and technological extension of ancient Polynesian voyaging canoes.

A modern navigational suite with advanced technology, an electric motor and propellers are found on the Hikianalia.

There are, however, a few exceptions separating Hikianalia from a contemporary catamaran. A paddle is used to steer Hikianalia, and not a fixed rudder, which allows the crew to operate the vessel using traditional non-instrumental (wayfinding) techniques, if they choose so. Furthermore the deck-planks on the Hikianalia are lashed onto the cross-beams and not glued or screwed onto it. Furthermore the shape of the bow and the stern seems to have been inspired by those on the Samoan and Tahitian canoes.

Hikianalia- Photo: Polynesian Voyaging Society

A RARE FIND

A collector approached me recently, asking whether I could identify the model of an old double-hulled canoe he bought while visiting Tasmania, on the basis of a few pictures.

The collector wondered whether it might be of Tongan or Solomon Island origin.

Looking at the type of sail, I could tell that it was definitely not of Polynesian origin. It was a Melanesian-type sail, but not Solomon Islands either. The tribes along the South-West coast of PNG were rigging their canoes with this triangular type of sail. Those tribes were the "Motu" and the "Roro". It was a type of canoe observed by A.C. Haddon and mentioned in his work 'Canoes of Oceania", page 226.

A few double-hulled canoes have been observed with ligated gunwales on the upper edges of the hulls, which is an exceptional technique in this region. This technique has been implemented on this model.

The Roro name for this type of canoe was "ahi rua iviri."

Single sail Papua New-Guinea canoe model

TRIANGULAR MELANESIAN SAIL

LIGATED GUNWALES AND ‘MOTU’ TYPE (PNG) ENGRAVED DESIGNS

A “AHI RUA IVIRI” CANOE MODEL

Philippes Banca: the Southern Migrations

In the South (Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago, the migrations from the Celebes (Sulawesi) and the Moluccas introduced different designs. The sea-nomadic cultures like the Bajau and Sama-Bajau drove this.

Key features:

The V-Shaped hull: Southern vessels often feature a sharper, deeper V-shape compared to the flatter northern hulls, allowing them to “slice” through the Celebes Sea.

The Lepa-Lepa: A masterpiece of the south. The Lepa is mostly built from a single log of wood, but in some cases “plank-built”, and without outriggers, featuring intricate carvings that mirror the art of the Celebes.

The Vinta (Sakayan): Known for its iconic, colorful rectangular sails (Pau), these show a clear stylistic evolution influenced by trade routes connecting the southern Philippines to the Indonesian spice islands.

Lepa-lepa canoe from the Bajau people, Philippines

A Moro Vinta canoe from the Philippines/ Mindanao and Sulu sea

Sketch of a Sulawesi fishing canoe by J. Neyret

Philippines Banca: the Northern migrations

The Taiwan Connection

The migration from Taiwan (the Austronesian Expansion) brought the foundational "Outrigger" technology to the northern Philippines (Luzon) roughly 4,000–5,000 years ago.

It is interesting to note the characteristics of the Filipino vessels found on lake Taal which resemble those built by the Tao people, or Yami, an indigenous Austronesian ethnic group of people native to Orchid Island off the southeastern coast of Taiwan, which are historically and linguistically linked to the Ivatan people of the Batanes Islands in the Philippines.

The Tao people are renowned for building traditional, intricately decorated plank canoes, with their rising stern and bow, a type also found in the Moluccas (the orembai) and the "mon" class in the Solomon Islands.

Yami canoe , Orchid Island

Philippines - Lake Taal

SOLOMON ISLANDS CANOE Model built by the author

THE NAIL-BITING VOYAGE OF THE SARIMANOK

The SARIMANOK voyage was a 1985-1986 expedition led by Bob Hobman, sailing a 60-foot traditional Philippine VINTA (dual outrigger canoe) from Bali to Madagascar to prove that ancient Austronesian ancestors directly crossed the Indian Ocean. The 65-day trip relied on ancient navigation, demonstrating high-level maritime skills.

Preceding the expedition of the Sarimanok was the 1976 voyage of the Hokule'a from Hawaii to Tahiti, designed to demonstrate that ancient Polynesian navigators could navigate thousands of miles across the Pacific using traditional, non-instrumental techniques, such as reading stars, ocean currents, and wildlife. This voyage proved that early Polynesian voyagers intentionally settled the Pacific Islands, and not by accidental drift.

Please add your comments

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVnN_jp2KBs&t=1433s

SCALE MODELS ARE NO TOYS

The craft of building miniature vessels is often met with a common misconception: that scale models are merely toys or simple shelf decorations. Even among those with salt water in their veins, there is sometimes a tendency to overlook the profound technical history and skill required to shrink a vessel down to size.

For centuries, the scale model was a fundamental stage of maritime engineering. Long before the first plank was laid or a single nail was driven into a hull, shipwrights and master builders constructed "block models" or "builder’s models." These were not for play; they were the primary blueprints. They allowed the builder to study the displacement, the curvature of the hull, and the harmony of the design in a three-wide environment.

In the modern era, this phase has largely migrated to the digital realm. Engineers now use complex 3D software to render every bolt of a car, every rivet of a plane, and every frame of a ship. While these digital twins are efficient, they lack the tactile reality that a physical model provides.

The process of building a miniature by hand—especially one scaled precisely—is a feat of both research and endurance. To do it correctly, the creator cannot simply guess. They must become an amateur historian and a structural engineer, familiarizing themselves with every component of the original craft, from the specific joinery of a Fijian Drua or the intricate lashings on the contemporary Hokule’a to the exact taper of a traditional paddle.

Achieving a high-quality result is a rare combination of technical skill and extreme patience. It is an exercise in "thinking in three dimensions" while working with materials that do not always want to be tamed at such a small scale. Far from being toys, these models are a tribute to maritime heritage and a testament to the meticulous research required to keep that history alive.

Large Tipairua canoe model built by the author.


THE MASTER BUILDERS OF THE PACIFIC: The tools that built the Drua.

The tools the Fijian craftsmen used were stone axes for rough cutting, stone chisels (“vilikoi”) and scrapers (“ ai kari”) for shaping, stone wedges for splitting and hollowing logs, and rough lumps of coral or pieces of stingray skin for smoothing and filing. For lighter work they used keen-edged splints of bamboo, sharp shells, spines of sea-urchins, the rough sheaf of the breadfruit; polishing was done by patient friction with pumice and coconut oil. Their only other tools, until the coming of the Europeans, were broken shells or the teeth of rats and fish, fitted with wooden handles. With these crude implements, they felled and split great trees, hewed planks and spars, shaped war clubs.

SYMMETRY OF THE SOUTH SEAS: A short dive into three Iconic Wa'a.

The "ALIA" introduced in Samoa during the 19th century is a Tongan adaptation of the double-hulled canoes from Tonga of the type "KALIA", which in turn have been copied from the Fiji DRUA.

All three types of canoes consist of two hulls of equal length for the "Alia" and "Kalia", but a larger main hull and a smaller outrigger-style hull for the Fiji DRUA, connected by a deck onto which the builders installed a hut covered with great pandanus leaves. The rigging consisted of a lateen sail.

Before the ALIA, there was apparently a predecessor in the name of VA’A TELE of whom we know little except that when changing tack had to be put about the same general way as European sailing vessels, whereby the ALIA, the KALIA, and the DRUA were able to sail forward from either end.

As previously mentioned, the ALIA was a replication of every aspect of the Tongan KALIA and was therefore commonly called KALIA as well. However, the Samoan improved it by introducing the hidden lashing gunwales to the hull. This technique spread to Tonga, where it was used on the TONGIAKI, and to Fiji, where the canoe builders used it in the DRUA. Another interesting detail introduced by the Samoans was the vertical bow at the forward end of the hull, but pointed toward the stern.

It is also worth mentioning at this stage that the Samoans introduced the very concave profile, or clipper bow, at the forward end of their outriggers.

What can be said to the credit of the Samoans is that, from the outset, they were able to build "ALIASES" with a high level of detail and perfection.

The huge canoe that they wanted to offer to Kaiser Wilhelm II, but which could not be transported to Germany because of its large size, was comparative to the most beautiful realizations in Fiji and Tonga, like finstance the RAMARAMA, long by about 100 feet or 30 meters, and transport over 100 people.

A Samoan double-hull voyaging canoe of the type ALIA

The KALIA from Tonga were more advanced, faster, and larger double-hulled vessels, replacing the older, slower TONGIAKI canoe. In use until the second half of the 19th century, when they disappeared, the KALIA’S were precisely similar, in every aspect, to the Fiji DRUA. Actually, the Tongan carpenters built a good number of them in Fiji on the islands of Kambara and Vulanga.

There is also the story of the famous and legendary vessel, the LOMIPEAU, a massive 16th-century Tongan double-hulled canoe, a KALIA, built in Uvea (Wallis Island), which transported heavy lime and basalt stones to the Tu'i Tonga from a faraway island believed to be Wallis.

The Tongans were audacious long-distance navigators, with incursions as far as the Solomon Islands and New Caledonia, in particular the Isle of Pines.

Tongan KALIA

The double-hulled canoes from Fiji, the DRUA, are considered, rightly so, as the masterpiece of Oceanic canoe building. They combined to the highest degree the most enviable nautical qualities: extraordinary speed (15 to 18 knots), cargo capacity, the RAMARAMA, which was long by about 100 feet and could carry 500 men, and very good seakeeping.

The primary advantage of the double canoe is its wide wheelbase, which gives it considerable stability while presenting minimal resistance to forward motion, as the two canoes (hulls) are very narrow: a wide beam of 4 feet for a length of 100 feet, giving a ratio of 1 to 25 between the width and the length whereas in sailing vessels the proportion is generally 1 to 3.

On the other hand, the wheelbase's width allowed the use of a sail that seems truly excessive. The yards of the RA MARAMA were over 110 feet long, the maximum width of the sail reached 78 feet, giving a surface area of over 4000 square feet.

The ALIA, KALIA and Fijian DRUA are arguably the apex of South Pacific canoe-building design and performance, some over 100 feet long and capable of speeds around 15 knots. The question is: what kind of material allowed the construction of such large-hulled vessels? It was the availability of the Vesi loa (Intsia Bijuga) tree, especially in the Southern Lau Group. A spreading tree reaching heights of up to 130 ft. The presence of such trees attracted master craftsmen from Samoa, Tonga, Fiji, and as far as New-Caledonia resulting in cross-cultural exchange to produce the finest voyaging canoes of their time.

It is therefore no surprise that a new type of double-hulled canoe was introduced to Pine Island (New-Caledonia) by visitors from Tongatapu or Haapai, who were hardy navigators. This type of canoe is an integral copy of the Fijian DRUA adopted by the Tongan. One interesting particularity is the shape of the hull's extremities, which end up pointed or slightly rectangular. The cover at both ends of the main hull (tau) was of a more simplified construction than the intricate pieces on the DRUA.

This picture was taken By F.H. Dufty of NAVUKINIVANUA - “The turner of the land” - one of the last of the great Fiji DRUA of the nineteenth century, and the last to be owned by Ratu Seru Cakobau, a Fijian Chief, monarch and warlord, anchored just off Nasova on the eastern shore of Ovalau, Fiji.

A very detailed and large model of a Fiji DRUA built by the author. The model is displayed at the POLYNESIAN CULTURAL CENTER, Lai’e, Hawaii.

HEALING THE WA'A: A New Year visit to the Puakea Foundation

On the first day of the year, while many were resting, I found myself at the He’eia State Park. There, inside the open-air canoe shed (Halau), a quiet kind of magic was happening.

I imagined the master craftsmen working on several Koa outrigger canoes. These vessels are more than just canoes; they are living lineage of wood and water. Some were in for minor “tender loving care”, while others were undergoing massive restorations.

One particular canoe caught my eye- half of the hull was being entirely reconstructed. To ensure the new koa plank followed the original lines of the canoe, the builders used wooden templates resembling bulkheads. These ribs act as a guide, keeping the hull’s iconic “U” shape true to the original shape as the new pieces of wood are placed and glued down.

I saw custom-made clamps designed to apply pressure at just the right angles, grafting new koa onto sections where the original wood had succumbed to time or rot. It’s a slow, precise process- a labor of love that ensures these “old souls” will eventually return to the sea.

For me, who has been dealing with canoes for so many years, albeit on scaled down dimensions, there’s something so moving about seeing those koa canoes in the middle of a “healing” process.

Big Mahalo to the Foundation for perpetuating this craft. It’s not just about building or repairing canoes; it’s about carrying a culture forward, it is about “mana”.

The Navigators' Legacy: Canoes of Oceania by Origin and People

Welcome to my two years of research dedicated to bridging the gap between the canoes of Oceania and their precise cultural and geographical homes. Visit my page:

A LOVE FOR CANOES, preceded by THE PROPOSAL or the vision of a few man to build an ancient Polynesian voyaging canoe, which became HOKULE’A, the most famous and most travelled of all contemporary voyaging canoes.

As a dedicated builder of model canoes, I've always admired the seminal works of scholars like A.C. HADDEN and Jean NEYRET .. Their comprehensive catalogs provide an invaluable foundation for anyone studying the history and construction of these incredible vessels. However, when seeking to understand exactly where and by whom a specific canoe type was built—down to the atoll or island—the process often requires extensive cross-referencing, especially in relation to Melanesian type canoes.

My goal with the listing of all those canoes is simple: immediate geographical and cultural context.

Connecting Craft to Culture

This resource is designed for the modern reader. Every entry provides not just the canoe’s type or name , but a direct link to its place of origin, whether it is a small, remote island or a major archipelago. When you navigate my list, you will be able to:

  1. Instantly Locate: Find the canoe's home on a map via a direct geographical link (e.g., to the island’s Wikipedia page or a reliable cultural atlas entry).

  2. Learn the People: Discover the history, language, and unique heritage of the tribe or culture that designed and built that specific craft.

  3. Appreciate the Engineering: Understand the local resources and sometimes the needs that drove the canoe’s unique construction features.

By connecting the reader immediately to the place and the people, I endeavor to transform a technical listing into a rich cultural history.

My canoe listing is organized geographically (Polynesia, Micronesia, Melanesia) and is continually updated with new information verified against historical records and contemporary ethnographic studies. As as said in the intro to my page POLYNESIAN CANOES I intend to list the canoes, which so far are listed by the broader regions of Oceania, by archipelago, atoll or island.

The Journey Continues

This project is a labor of love, developed in parallel with my primary work of crafting detailed miniature models of these very vessels. The insights gained from building these canoes—understanding the sheer scale, the materials, and the skill required—deepens the respect for the original builders.

Thank you for joining me on this journey. Please explore the A LOVE FOR CANOES and use the links, when available, to immediately anchor these incredible feats of ocean engineering within their vibrant cultural contexts. If you have corrections or additional information, please contact me, as this is a living document dedicated to accuracy and accessibility.

Note: The listings are a personal research project, based to date on two years of work by the author, a dedicated model canoe builder. Please contact the author shall he have omitted to give credit to an image or document.

MAYOTTE

I have recently been approached by a member of the University of Mayotte with the question whether I could make them a scale model of a typical "Malagasy" fishing canoe. The University of Mayotte is eagerly preparing for their Festival of Science, a significant event towards the end of the year, and they believe that a scale model of a typical 'Malagasy' fishing canoe would be a valuable addition to their exhibits.

Mayotte is a French territory situated south of the Comores Island and half way to Madagascar.

The malagasy canoes belong to the Austronesian type canoes like those from New Caledonia, Philippines, Madagascar and some from Indonesia.

A traditional Malagasy fishing canoe