Ever since building my first Hokule'a model, 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 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.

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 battle-tested.