Just after New Year’s I was walking Hanalei Bay and stumbled on a Proa canoe shipwrecked on the beach! We had some heavy rains and local flooding and this must have washed out the river and then up on the beach. I thought about taking it home to repair it – I’d probably have ‘salvage rights’ – but if the owner came looking for it I know I’d return it.

I liked the the ‘lines’, I could see this was a simple build (meaning I could complete it quickly), I was pretty sure I had most of the materials I needed already in my shop and… it had been several years since I built a canoe!! I started a new Resort Repair & Maintenance business here on Kauai in 2015; it’s always exciting starting a new venture so I put a lot of time and energy into it, but I was ready to get back to building outrigger canoes!

Early January I found this Proa outrigger canoe on the beach at Hanalei Bay, Kauai.

It was a simple design – a 3-plank canoe, the hull is literally just 3 boards.

Proa canoes are popular in Micronesia and South East Asia. The bow and stern are symetrical.

I had an extra ‘ama in the yard, I just had to move the rear connection to make it fit the new canoe. The top pic is the original, down to the bottom that’s ready to use on the new canoe.

A detail shot of the iako. These were laminated from two pieces of 1/2″x2.5″ clear Douglas fir, and one piece 1/4″ marine plywood.

I added a hole in the bow and the stern and made a couple of “carry handles”.

I use stainless steel ratchet straps on the iako to wae connection. For the ‘ama to iako I use bicycle inner tubes (not shown here).

The bare hull weighs just over 115 lbs which means it it light enough to lift onto my truck – one end at a time.

In Kalihiwai River behind the beach. It’s a great calm weather canoe! Rivers, bays, the reef at Anini…