Outrigger Canoe

HOW TO RIG AN OUTRIGGER CANOE The purpose of rigging is to tie together the three main parts of the canoe--the hull (the main part of the canoe), the iako (the two wooden booms that connect the hull and the ama) and the ama (the wooden float that lies parallel to the hull and floats in the water). "We use cotton cord string to tie everything together," says Walter Guild, Board member, paddler, former Head Coach and longtime member of the Canoe Racing Committee who spent many years in charge of the racing equipment. "We use cotton because \-\Then it gets \-vet, it shrinks and binds everything together tightly: All cord used for rigging is pre-stretched around a fixed object before it's used to rig a canoe. It takes about 50-feet of cord to tie each ama to the iako, and about 60-feet of cord to tie each iako to the hull. Rigging a canoe takes at least two people. Leveling the Hull The first step in rigging a canoe is to level the hull. The crew places a carpenter's level across the hull to make sure it's level. This is necessary so that the canoe will float properly when it's in the water. The next step is to tie the iakos to the boat with rubber strips to hold them in place. Then, the ama is placed in the cradles and given a visual check to make sure it is properly aligned. First the Ama One person holds the ama, while the other begins the tieing process. The cord is wrapped around the peg on the iako in a figure eight. It crosses either in Iront of the peg or in back of it. Every time it crosses, it locks the cord under it in place. Should a string break, it can't unravel because It'S locked in by the cord on top. The cord is pulled as tightly as possible. The cord is then wrapped around the previous lashing between the iako and ama to cinch it in place and then is tied off. A string is tied from one iako to the other to keep them from moving. The newer ama have holes in them so that a string isn't necessary. The ama is always tied the same way. Ama Placement Once the ama is tied, the distance between the hull and ama is adjusted depending on the water conditions and the size of the crew using the boat. The distance between the hull and the ama varies from 66 to 70 inches from the outside gunnel of the canoe to the center of the ama. "The farther out the ama is, the more stable the canoe is," Guild said. ··ft has a catamaran effect. The closer in the ama is, it acts as a single hull sort of boat. It's less stable, but gives a higher performance. "The rigging really depends on the water and wind conditions. We usually make allowances for the crew in how we wedge the hull. We usually rig the Leilani light for the kids, and the Kaoloa heavier for the open crews." Iako to the Hull It takes two people to tie the iako to the hull. The process s tarts by finding the mid point in the cord and looping it around the wae (the wooden block inside the hull which spreads the gunnels apart and on which the iako sits). There are different sets of holes in the gunnel so that the wae can be moved forward or back depending on the ama that is used. ' Once we find the best place for the iako, we usually leave it there,' Guild said. Each person then takes one piece of the cord and begins lashing the iako to the hull, always pulling the cord as tightly as possible. (See photos on page 4.) The cord is wrapped through the gunnels and around the iako and wae, in a figure eight pattern. The wrap is finished by again securing the cord to the wae, and then all of the cords are cinched together and tied off. Once the rigging is complete, water is poured on the cord so that the tightening process can begin. It takes 30-45 minutes to rig each canoe on race day. -Marilyn Kali