Outrigger Canoe Kit (Waka Ama)

Kia Ora everyone,

I am an engineering student and for my final year project I have decided to base my project around designing and hopefully making a Waka Ama (Outrigger Canoe). I've been raised in the sport of Waka Ama but I have no experience in the design and creation of one. I want to create a Waka Ama "Kit" using the stitch and glue method, so clubs with limited funds can make a training canoe. I'm having trouble on starting my project. Does anyone have any tips on where I should start or what I could do.

Cheers

 

Have a look at Gary Dierking's work (Outrigger Sailing Canoes https://outriggersailingcanoes.blogspot.com/), and perhaps contact him. And I think it was Bernd Koehler (CATpage https://www.ikarus342000.com/CATpage.htm) who wrote about a stitch and glue kit he designed with CNC-cut puzzle joints and tabs on the bulkheads that slotted into slots cut into the hull panels where you could temporarily fix it into place with a wedge. Wet the puzzle joints with epoxy, push them together, fix the hull panels to the bulkheads, join together with fillets and glass, cut off the tabs and wedges. If it works as described, that is the easiest way of building a boat that I have come across. That seems like a good starting point. I don't know whether the article is on Koehler's site, and I might misremember who came up with the idea.

 

Have you ever built a stitch and glue boat?
What is causing you problems starting?

 

Kia Ora

I would examine a waka you like the design of to understand its weight, lines and construction.
From there you can do some basic reverse engineering to understand which parameters are important to produce a safe and effective craft. Do some research on displacement, volume distribution, weight distribution and stability.

Principles of Yacht design is a good text to read as it covers off all the design steps you need with plain language and sensible maths.

Also look up SOR (statement of requirements) and design spiral of boat design. These will give you a structure for your design efforts.

Post your SOR here and some photos of the designs you interested in. I'm sure you will get plenty of great advice.

Good luck

 

You could use defltship free to 3D model or mostly clone an existing waka ama with developable surfaces. It has features to ensure your panels will be able to be stitched and glued and can be unrolled. Then you could try building that.

But it might work quite differently from strip planked canoes if you don't know the mechanics behind. You should study existing stitch and glue plans for canoes.

You could also talk to designers of such stitch and glue kits to see if they would adapt one of their plans. Maybe you can even find someone who does this for fun and for free and knows what he is doing.

Making sure the plans are safe to offer to others to build and use is quite a responsibility. Depending on where they will be used.