The hulls of Hikianalia have been constructed using fiberglass; those on my model are made out of wood.
As I have mentioned in a previous blog, I could not find a plan for Hikianalia but had to rely on drawings, photos, and videos to calculate the dimensions of the various parts of the vessel.
Three stages of construction were particularly challenging and time-consuming; those were the roof of the hull, not to be confused with the deck of the vessel. The hull of a canoe is open; the hull of Hikianalia is covered and only open by four hatches or "companionways. There is also a door at the back of each hull leading to the hull's supply area.
The deck on a catamaran is a rigid platform sandwiched between the sheerline of both hulls. The deck on Hikianalia covers both hulls, with openings where there is a hatch to allow you to climb down into the hull.
Building the hull cover, or "coachroofs," between the gunwales and aligning the deck with the hatches took me a fair amount of time.
Building the framework supporting the solar panels was another headache. I find the framework supporting the solar panels on the Hikianalia convoluted. I noticed that it has been simplified on the other canoes modeled after Hikianalia. Anyway, I did simplify it on my model. I did install 2 scaled-down working solar panels providing power to a red and green position light mounted at the forward railings.
Finally, not adept in metallworking, I was not able to build the various metallic fittings making up the rigging of the sails, like the gooseneck, the tack and tack hook, the clew, the shackle, the boom with a track, and so on.
I tried to imitate those as best as I could using wood.
Overall, I was highly satisfied with the model, except for 2 mistakes which have not stopped bothering me. The doors leading to the hull supply area should have been wider, with trim along the bottom to prevent water from entering that area. Same with the door of the deck house, or "Halau wa'a hale." That door should not have touched the deck floor.
The model left Hawaii on August 7 for its collector in Clearwater, Florida.
