Conquering the Sea

The region of the Pacific Ocean we call Polynesia today, a large number
of islands and archipelagos scattered over a large area, was populated 3000 years ago by settlers arriving from Southeast Asia.

Since the islands could only be reached by sea, the construction of
sea vessels and navigation played a key role in the life of Polynesians.
One of their typical vessels was the catamaran. Polynesian catamarans developed from dugout canoes; two parallel hulls of equal size were
joined by wooden beams. The result was a fast and stable vessel with
a shallow draught. Catamarans usually had both paddles and masts
with sails. The fastest Polynesian catamarans could excel to a speed
of up to 12 knots (22 km/h).

Catamaran

A catamaran is a type of boat with a single deck supported by two separate, parallel hulls. Boats with three hulls are called trimarans. Catamarans have been used
on the Pacific Ocean, in Polynesia for centuries, but modern ships based on
this construction are built today as well.

Over the centuries the population of Polynesia separated into several distinct ethnic groups: the Maori, Hawaiians, Tongans, Samoans, Tahitians. The picture shows Maori sailors, their faces decorated with traditional tattoo motifs.

Dimensions

Catamarans were made in various sizes, depending on their usage. The longest ones were up to 40 m long and were used for transport and long-distance voyages, as they could accommodate up to 150 people. War catamarans were designed to be particularly fast, so
they were narrow and had no mast or sails.

Dugout boat (a canoe made from
a hollowed tree trunk)

Two dugout boats tied together into a double canoe