Building Outrigger Sailing Canoes

Gary Dierking has been designing and building boats for more than 40 years. Raised in northern Wisconsin, he served in the US Coast Guard, then built a 37' trimaran and logged 20,000 nautical miles throughout the Pacific. His interest in outrigger canoes and other multihulls continued in the 1980s, when he worked as head builder and assistant designer for Rudy Choy Boatworks in Honolulu, building a series of high tech offshore catamarans for racing and the tourist industry. Since 1991, he has run his own boat shop in Coromandel, New Zealand. He designs, builds, repairs, and modifies a wide variety of working and recreational vessels, especially multihulls, up to 50 feet in length. He series-manufactures his Ulua outrigger canoe design in molded fiberglass.

PrefaceAcknowledgementsIntroduction: Some Outrigger BasicsA Brief History of the Outrigger CanoeWhy Use an Outrigger?Length of an Outrigger CanoeWeight of an Outrigger CanoeSpeed of an Outrigger Canoe Outboard MotorsSailing RigsPaddling Your Outrigger Structure of the Outrigger CanoeAccommodationMix and MatchUnits of MeasurementTerminologyChoosing Materials for an Outrigger CanoeHow to Navigate This BookChapter 1.The UluaChapter 2.The T2Chapter 3.The Wa’apaChapter 4.Sailing RigsThe Oceanic Lateen RigThe Gibbons RigThe Hawaiian RigStub-Mast RigsChapter 5.Boatbuilding BasicsStrip-Planking Versus PlywoodToolsMaterials Safety GearWork SpaceLoftingGluesScrews, Nails, and StaplesCutting PlywoodCutting Strip PlanksScarfing TimberScarfing PlywoodJoining Plywood Sheets with FiberglassJoining Plywood Sheets with Butt BlocksFilletingFilling, Sanding, and FairingSheathing with Fiberglass and ResinLaminatingBonded FastenersPainting and VarnishingMetal WorkWorkshop Health and SafetyMaintenance and RepairChapter 6. Building the Ulua and T2 Strip-Composite HullsDo a Practice SessionThe StrongbackMoldsPlankingThe Outer StemFairing and Smoothing the HullRemoving the Hull from the MoldGlassing the InteriorFitting the Interior StructureFore and Aft DecksManus, Splash Guards, and DashboardsStretching the UluaChapter 7. Building the Wa’apa Plywood HullHull Middle SectionChapter 8. AmasFoam and Fiberglass AmasBuilding a Plywood AmaStrip-Planked AmasAma ConnectionsChapter 9. Cross Beams and Hull ConnectionsBuilding a Solid Laminated IakoBuilding a Hollow, Box Beam IakoAluminum Tube BeamsConnectionsChapter 10. Steering, Leeboards, and AccessoriesSteeringLeeboardsAccessoriesChapter 11. Spars, Spar Specifications, and SailsSparsSpar SpecificationsSailsChapter 12. Rigging, Tuning, and SailingCE and CLRTacking Rig SetupShunting Rig SetupSailing BasicsSwamping and CapsizeResourcesGlossaryIndex