How Did Polynesians Populate The Pacific Ocean?
![[Water Color of first Hawaiians by Joseph Feher]](images/first_hawaiians.jpg)
About 2,000 years ago, Polynesians populated all the habitable islands
from Hawaii, 5,000 miles south to New Zealand and from Tonga, 5,000
miles east to Easter Island. Dugout canoes with outriggers were the
vessels used for these daring voyages. Today, people are still
traveling between islands in dugout canoes. During 1970 I sailed a
36-foot dugout canoe with outriggers from Panama 5,000 miles to
Hawaii. During 1989, an Argentina man sailed an open 18-foot dugout
canoe from Panama, 10,000 miles to the Philippines.
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- The Challenge
- Rediscovering the lost art of Polynesian ocean voyages.
- Adventures in Tahiti - 1964
- Building Liki Tiki, a Polynesian double hull boat.
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Voyage of Liki Tiki Too- 1970
- Sailing a dugout canoe 5,000 miles from Panama to Hawaii.
- Polynesian Navigation
- My discovery of comfort zone navigation.
- Polynesian Boat Design
- Double hull boats were not ocean voyagers. Single hull with
outriggers can cross oceans.
- Cruising in Dugout Canoes Today
- In the Tropic Zones of the world, the dugout canoe is the most
popular form of water transportation. With and ax and adz, one man can
fall a tree, carve a canoe in a few days. Add outrigger and sail, that
person will have transportation built from the jungle that cost him
nothing. In the Tropics, this form of transportation has been standard
through all of history.
- Dugout Design and Construction
- At sea, size is not a safety factor, it is a comfort factor. Almost
any boat can be safe at sea if you know its limits.
- Where to Start
- Central America is loaded with dugout canoes. For about $100, it is
your choice for a 30-foot boat . Jungle rivers that connect to a single
road, are the most likely locations to look. River farmers bring their
produce to market by this route. In small villages, people are very
friendly. If you tell them what you are doing, the whole village will
help you.
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