Model pahi (sailing canoe from Tuamotu)

This is a 1:35 scale model of a pahi - a double-hulled sailing canoe with two sails from the Tuamotu archipelago. This type of canoe has not been made in the Tuamotu region since the early twentieth century. There are few documentary accounts that describe pahi in detail. Much of the information that survives about this type of canoe has been reconstructed from a few drawings, written accounts, and several models in European museums. It appears the vessel was disappearing from use by the mid to late nineteenth century.

Tuamotu canoe builders
One of the most interesting features of the pahi is the construction of the plank-built hull. European accounts from the eighteenth century state that the people of Tuamotu archipelago were well regarded for their skills in canoe construction and were found to be building canoes in Tahiti and Raiatea.

Construction
The two large hulls of pahi would begin as keels with the sides of the vessel built up out of short planks of carefully milled timber sewn together with coconut fibre. The hulls were joined by a series of cross-beams that provided support for a deck. The hulls were pointed at both ends and asymmetrical in elevation and section. They had open hatches to allow provisions to be stored and people to take shelter. There was a long curved roof shelter on the deck covered in pandanus leaves arranged like thatching, with a small square entrance at the midpoint of the shelter. The shelter rested on the smaller of the two hulls.

Sails, masts, ropes, and steering paddle
The triangular sails were made from long strips of Pandanus cloth, sewn together. The strips ran horizontally. The sails were fitted to two masts of equal height, each braced by another pole standing at an angle to the deck. Each pole was fitted with a ladder to allow for sail trimming and rope maintenance. The loose edges of the sails were fixed to an upward curving boom. The tops of the masts were forked and had streamers or tell tales (wind direction indicators) and stays attached to them. Ropes were made from coconut fibre cord.

The steering paddle was several metres long and had a distinctive fishtail shaped blade. It rested in one of two forks placed at either end of the longer hull and was partially secured in place with rope.