Can anyone point me in the right direction as to finding plans to build an outrigger canoe.
cheers joe
I believe these are usually molded, and therefore a MUCH bigger job than almost any of us will tackle. That said, I dunno who is actually making them. Now if you’re talking one-man hollow glass canoes, or racing kayaks, that’s another matter, but they’re still molded, and you can get a used one SOOO much cheaper and quicker than you’d ever make one. Additionally, there’s not much variation in canoe design as there is in surfboards, another vote for just buying a used one.
Joe,
There is a large canoe-culture community, with many specialties. Check “The Proa Page” links for pointers to sailing canoes ( www.schachtdesign.com/proafile/links.html ). Lots of home-builders among the enthusiasts. Gary Dierking has a range of boats for sale, good pictures ( http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/garyd/index.html ).
Are you interested in paddling or sailing, or both. What kinds of wind & water? There are almost infinite variations in design. For example, each island & atoll group in Micronesia has its own traditional variations, the origins and influences easily recognized by experts. I am interested in the possible historic linkages between the canoe and origins of Hawaiian surfing. Happy hunting.
Cheers Barbaree
I am after building something for the English channel, so cold water, bad currents and strong winds!!
Thanks for the links, I’ll have a good look through to find the best type of design.
cheers joe
Aloha Joe - you still never specified if you were interested in building a one-man or a six-man canoe. Once we know, we might be able to give you a bit more information. Until then, here’s a few more sites…
http://www.paanikai.com/ Newquay, Cornwall club
http://www.hawaiianh2o.com/ Many clubs, manufacturers listed
http://www.y2kanu.com/ Info, manufacturers, news, classifieds
http://www.ocpaddler.com/ Paddling info and news
Joe,
Follow the Gary Dierkering link that Barbaree posted above.
He sells a set of plans for an Outrigger Canoe that you can strip build yourself and he gives a lot of information out.
Hi waxfoot,
I’m after one big enough just for my lady and I plus a little bit of extra room for those bits an bobs.
cheers joe
Allrighty then Joe, now we’re getting somewhere. Next question - how many of those ‘bits and bobs’ are you going to be taking? Just water bottles, some lunch and an extra paddle or so? If that’s the case you could get away with something like this:
Here’s the webpage: http://www.wildercanoe.com/canoes/waveblade2.html The builder’s name is Steve Blyth, he paddles for the canoe club I belong to. I have one of his one-man boats. They’re hollow core, made as two halves (top and bottom), vaccum bagged epoxy/carbon fiber. Not too difficult to construct, but unless you have a mold, perhaps a bit hard to figure out the best design that works… The ama (outrigger) is made the same way. Iakos (poles to the outrigger) are made of aluminum tubing.
Now if you’re looking for something a little bigger that you can actually sit in rather than on top, and take a bit more gear, here’s a couple more options/ideas…
Holopuni canoes, designed on Kauai, made in California are 3-man canoes, and can be paddled or sailed, depending on which version you get. http://www.holopunicanoes.com/
The DUKE (http://www.dukecanoe.com/) is a 4-man canoe, but can be paddled with just two.
All of those links are available through the HawaiianH20 link from my last post. I know the last two ideas (Holopuni and Duke) are larger than you might be looking for, but you could just modify the design to be a bit smaller. The posters above were correct though, they too are laid up in a mold. Another option might be for you to make a ‘strip boat’. In other words, use strips of wood to make your frame and then glass over the resulting structure. You’d have to make ribs and such of course to support the strips, but it is possible. Here’s a link to a project that some high school students were working on, on Kauai:
Hope that’s enough to get you started in the right direction…
Thanks waxfoot
plenty of info to keep me going!!
cheers joe
Keep us posted with how it turns out!!
aloha
waxfoot
Hey Joe, Just happened to come across this thread doing a search for an old thread I had started asking about outriggers about a year ago. Anyways I used to build OC-1’s(one man outrigger) and OC-2’s(two man outriggers) as well as race the OC-6’s. I just finished designing a new OC-2 that is going to mold. Heres the deal with outriggers. The OC-1 & 2 are all designed for competition. They have no limitations in their design specs. Contrary to what was suggested earlier there is as much variable with outriggers as with surfboards or anything else. The OC-6 is a spec boat. It must weigh in at a whopping 400 lbs. That is just for the hull. The ama and iakos are additional. The hull too, has all sorts of design limitations to it. Having said all that I would recommend starting with your water conditions. Like surfboards, outrigger canoes are designed for specific conditions. Most of the outriggers you see on line are designed for hawwaiian waters. Large rough (warm) seas! I am not familiar with the english channel but I assume at the very least it is cold. There is atleast one person that is making plans for a small “duggout” style whom I am sorry I cannot recall. I believe he was located in Australia or New Zealand. Another thing to consider is modifying an existing boat into an outrigger. My guess is that fishermen and mariners from your region have “perfected”, through history and experience, what hull works best in your waters. The Hawaiian canoe was designed by necessity. The available best suited material was the Koa tree. The canoe was needed for work (fishing), war, and exploration. Likewise there are probably small craft from your region that work very well. You should do some historical research about small boats in your region. You can then modify an existing boat or start from scratch and that will atleast give you a hull concept. There are so many other things to consider i.e. transporting the boat, the loaded displacement, safety, your skills and knowledge of construction techniques, etc etc. Good luck.
Hey Aquafiend65,
I’ve been trying to find someone to contact here in Santa Cruz, California that can turn me on to a place I can look at and outrigger caneo but I haven’t been successful. Can anyone help me out with a contact? Thanx –
Happy New Year, Rich
Check out this guys stripper OC… pity it was damaged while being shipped to the islands
www.karkauai.com/outrigger_canoe.html
7/10
*edited to fix the URL
Hey Halcyon, I can probably be of assistance if you could be more specific. Are you looking for a one man outrigger or two man or six man or surfing canoe?
Hey Aquafiend65,
Either a one or two man rig, nothing very big. I’ll have to work out what’ll be best after I get some details on length and weight. Something I can get to the beach either by myself or with a friend and launch without too much difficulty is what I’m after. I suspect a small lateen rig would serve it well when a favorable breeze comes up. I live about a mile for the Santa Cruz Harbor so I can put in there or at one of the beaches when the swell is small enough. I really don’t want to have to trailer it. I’d like to be able to put it on top of my station wagon to haul it. Your help would be greatly appreciated.
Mahalo, Rich
Thanks for the imput, I have sort of found a hulll type that with a little mod should suit the purpose, and yes it’s bloody cold up here so something with a high side and keeps me from the sea would do me!!
Anyway keep you posted as I start building her.
Cheers Joe
Halcyon, by mentioning a lateen rig I am assuming you are talking about a sailing canoe?! If that is the case you will have to do alot of your own design work and modifications to an existing boat. To my knowledge, there are no pre-existing manufactured one or two man surf canoes. Even the large surf canoes are modifications of the six mans. John Martin of hawaiian Designs would be a good starting point. His outriggers use straight iakos (the arms that hold the outrigger). You will need an ama (the outigger) on both sides to keep from flipping and his boats would allow you to fabricate your own iakos to accomodate two amas. Most of the one man outriggers are between 30-40 lbs. fully rigged with iako and ama. The two mans are 40-60 lbs. You can get a lighter boat by going full carbon laminate but I wouldn’t recommend lightness for a sailing canoe. The mast and double amas will put tremendous stress on the boats laminate so I would concern myself with structural strength more than anything else.
Back in the college days ie, no money, a friend and I built an outrigger from corrugated roofing tin, plywood, pvc pipe,an old surfboard, and lots of bondo. Tied it to his Ford Maverick and launched it at Capitola Beach. Took a little wave over the bow, but made it to the kelp beds. With my wife( girl friend then) bailing we loaded up on rock fish. Next, we launched it from Lover’s Cove in Pacific Grove loaded with fishing poles, scuba gear, and three people. Happily there was no swell because we had about three inches of hull above water. Loaded up on more rock fish, greenlings, and my buddy speared a big old Ling Cod. Fish tacos. Yum yum. Mike
Hey Aquafiend65,
A Lateen rig is the wrong call. If it gets rough or the wind gets much above 10 knots I’ll be headed for the beach so I’ll want a rig that’s very simple to set and strike. No fancy stuff for me, just light cruzing and fishing when the swell is down. A two man outrigger canoe has so little wetted surface it won’t take much to make it go so very small sail are will suffice for my purposes. The bigger the sail the more trouble I can get into. No racing, or making any long up wind tacks in heavy weather for me. Making way under sail allow for more range and relaxation than just paddling and a sail are a good saftey measure.
I won’t be sailing stern first like the old Hawaiians did. I think a traditional rig would be somewhat unwieldy so I’m thinking that because the sails on modern sailboards are so effecient and light that I’ll talk to my friend Joe Dihl at Davenport Surf~Sail when I get ready to set up the rig. I’ll have to handle the sail with a few lanyards but I don’t think it’ll be too complex. The step can be very similar to a sailboard with some modifications to affix it to. With modern materials I expect Joe and I can come up with something very light and efficient.
I’m sure that I’m not the first guy with these kinds of ideas so I’ll have to do my research before I embark on the project. The voice of experience is always the best one to start with so I’m glad to hear any suggestions you may have. How can I get in touch with John Martin? He sounds like a good place to start.
Mahalo, Rich
You can find John @ www.onemancanoes.com. You should also check out the Triton at www.backbayboatworks.com.