Plants and Tools Used for Building Canoes

Plants Used for Building Canoes / Chad Baybayan

The Hawaiian environment provided all the necessary items to construct
and provision a canoe. The native Polynesian possessed a tremendous
ability in discovering the many uses his natural environment provided
for him. It is this resourcefulness that allow ed him to move freely upon
the ocean. The following is a list of plants and their uses in building
canoes.
'akoko: paint, dye
'uhaloa: paint, dye
'aka'akai: paint, dye
'ama'u: paint, dye
olona: lashing
'ie'ie: lashing
niu: sennit, water-sealant
hala: sails, covers
ipu: bailer
koa: hull, manu, seats, gunnels, spar, mast, paddles
'ulu: hull, manu, gunnels, seats, caulking
kukui: hulls, paint
hau: 'iako (outrigger boom), ama (outrigger float), boom, paddles
wiliwili: ama (outrigger float)

Brushing kukui oil on the koa hulls of Mauloa

Aha (Sennit)/ Rowena Keaka, Melissa Kim, Beatrice Krauss, and
Mollie Sperry
(from Polynesian Seafaring Heritage, Honolulu: PVS and Kamehameha
Schools, 1980, edited by Cecilia Kapua Lindo and Nancy Alpert Mower.)
People have made and used cordage for many centuries. It has been
used to attach one object to another and to lift, pull, or secure things
into place. Cordage has been not only useful but also decorative.
Because of the various uses of cordage, individual s have created many
ways of knotting and lashing. 'Aha (coconut sennit cordage) is still being
made in many places in the Pacific. Both the green and dry husks of the
coconut are used.
There are several ways in which Polynesians prepare the coconut fibers.
One method is to break the husk apart into sections. Each section is
then turned over to expose the slick outer skin. This outside portion is
then pounded. Pounding aids in breaking t he inner fibers away from the
outer skin. The sections are next soaked in seawater for several weeks
before the long fibers that are worked into cordage are removed.
Another method is to break the husk apart, then remove some of the
long fibers which are soaked in seawater for eight weeks. Pacific
Islanders who use the green husk just remove the long fibers by pulling
the husk apart and working the fibers into cordage.

Niu / Coconut, by Melanie Lessett

Canoe sennit, which must be a very tight braid, is extremely difficult to
make. Because of the roughness of the fibers, only a few lengths can be
made in a day.

Tava Taupu lashing Mauloa with sennit

Several different kinds of cordage were used throughout Hawai i and the
Pacific. Bark from the hau (hibiscus) was easier to work with than
coconut fibers. Hau bark strips are longer and when braided or twisted
are very strong. Hau cordage was used for sec uring items such as
umeke (bowls / calabashes), or rolls of kapa or lauhala.
Making Coconut Cordage (Sennit) / Rowena Keaka
1. Husk mature dry coconuts and break into 8-10 sections. Remove
shorter fibers next to outer shell, at both ends of the husk, and
discard.
2. Soak sections for 2 weeks, or until they are easy to work. Soaking
fibers in running water helps in the cleaning process. Weight them
down with a brick or stone when soaking.
3. Remove sections--work sections by twisting or use table edge and
press sections over the edge; peel and discard outer skin.
4. Beat each section with a wooden mallet. Use a piece of hard wood
or a flat stone for an anvil.
5. Start beating. Beat sections starting from the center and working
to the edge. Turn section around, repeat process to remove
extraneous matter.
6. Rinse to separate"chaff" from fibers. Shaking the bundle helps to
remove the"chaff." Tools like shells or a strong comb help in
removing extraneous material. Work through fibers. This process
cleans and untangles fibers. Tie each section around middle. This
is for easy handling.
Making Hau Cordage / Rowena Keaka
1. Cut hau (hibiscus) branch. Select a straight branch with few
branch scars.
2. Strip outer bark (bast) using a sharp instrument ('opihi shell or
knife). Peel the bark away from the branch.
3. If a fine cordage is desired, scrape off the outer bark.
4. Soak in water for about a week. Running water is desirable (a
stream would be ideal), or change tap water periodically to
prevent the bark from rotting. The object of soaking is to soften
the fibers and separate them into layers.
5. Take strips of the material and braid or twist to make cordage.
6. Take three strands of fiber, start each one about 1" from the
other. Place right palm over fibers; place fibers on leg; firmly roll

downward towards knee. Keep adding fibers to lengthen the single

fiber thread.
Another method to use when making hau cordage:
1. After all the fibers are cleaned, tie 15 fibers together with a knot.
This will make cordage.
2. Divide the fibers in 3 groups of 5 fibers. It is better if the groups
of fibers are not the same length.
3. The knot may be held between your toes or tacked at the edge of
a table. Braid the fibers.
4. Before you reach the end of a fiber group, add in a new group of 5
fibers. Individual fibers may also be spliced in as needed.
Ko'i, or Adzes / Dr. Kenneth P. Emory and Rowena Keaka
The stone adz was the most important tool of the Polynesians. With it
they felled trees, shaped their canoes and canoe parts, and hewed
timbers and household furnishings, wooden spears, and clubs.

Mau Piailug and Tava Taupu lashing stones on canoe-carving adzes with
sennit. Honaunau, early 1990s.
The Polynesian adzes varied in size and shape, depending on their use.
The styles used by the Hawaiians were similar to those used in the
Marquesas and Society Islands and clearly show their origin from these
islands. A noteworthy feature of the Hawaiian adz is the angle of the
blade which does not cut at a right angle like the European ax.
The stone that was used in making the adz was basalt. Basalt comes
from close-grained volcanic rock. Basalt quarries were usually found in
volcanic mountains. Chipping was done with other stone tools. The adz
maker would grind the blade edge on a grinding stone with sand and
water to sharpen the blade. The adz blades were secured to their

handles by lashing with coconut fiber cord or braid known as sennit, as

shown in the illustration.

Types of Adzes and other Tools for Building Canoes / Chad

Baybayan
The primary tool in building a canoe was the ko'i or adze. The ko'i was
made from basalt and gathered from quarries. The islands had to be
explored to find where the best "rock" could be found. The largest and
best of the quarries was found on the slopes of Mauna Kea at an
elevation of 12,400 feet. The tons of flakes that remain piled upon the
slopes of Mauna Kea stands as a testimony to the skill of the Hawaiian
craftsman.

Adzes (list from Tommy Holmes, The Hawaiian Canoe, p.27)

ko'i 'ahuluhulu: planing adze for rough lumber

ko'i alahe'e: hardwood adze
ko'i 'auwaha: scoop adze
ko'i 'awili: socketed adze
ko'i holu: broad, bent adze; used to shave off smooth in the
direction of the grain
ko'i ho'oma: narrow and deep adze
ko'i kahela: chisel
ko'i kaholo: planing adze
ko'i kalai: carving adze
ko'i kapili: finishing adze
ko'i kikoni: small finishing adze; used to shave off and smoothen
the wood surface
ko'i kila: steel adze
ko'i kukulu: straight-edged adze; used to shave down canoe sides
ko'i kupa: adze used for hollowing out the canoe hull
ko'i kupa 'ai ke'e: swivel-headed adze; used for narrowing out the
hollow bow and stern sections, smoothing and polishing
ko'i kupele (pele): adze used to hollow out bottom of canoe hull
by cutting zig-zag trenches; to scoop out
ko'i lipi: sharp adze; used for hewing koa trees
ko'i meki: iron adze
ko'i milo: adze used on the outside of canoe
ko'i nunu: "greedy" adze; same as ko'i kalai
ko'i 'ole: conch shell adze
ko'i' oma: small, oval adze; used for finishing
ko'i 'opaka: adze used on the outside of canoe; cuts smoothly
ko'i 'owili: gouge; twisting adze; same as ko'i kupa'ai ke'e
ko'i pa'ahana: adz for shaping hull
ko'i pahoa: chisel; "dagger" adze
ko'i paukuku: adze used to cut canoe log into sections
ko'i wili: socketed adze

Other Tools

'ana: pumice; used for rubbing

'eleku: coarse basalt; used as a polishing stone
'oahi or ola'i: rough stone, pumice, or coral rock for polishing
'o'io: close-grained basalt; used for polishing
pohaku 'anai wa'a: finishing stones
pohaku pao: stone chisels

pohaku kapili wa'a: stone hammer used to tap chisels in making

lashing holes in canoe parts
puki'i wa'a: wooden clamps
puna: fine coral; used for rubbing
wili: drill

Mauloa, a canoe built at Honaunau out of traditional materials, with

native wood, sennit lashings, and a lauhala sail. The canoe was
launching in 1992.