Outrigger canoe

A canoe stabilized by one or more lateral floats connected to its hull by crossbeams. The floats resist capsizing while allowing a narrow, efficient main hull.

Ama: The lateral float attached to an outrigger canoe’s main hull. This float supplies buoyancy on the side where the narrow hull would otherwise tip.
Austronesian expansion: The prehistoric spread of Austronesian-speaking peoples across Island Southeast Asia and the Pacific. Outrigger craft formed part of the seafaring technology associated with this vast migration.
Vaʻa: A Samoan outrigger canoe used for transport, fishing, and racing. It is a regional form that shows how the outrigger design serves everyday use and competition.
Catamaran: A vessel with two parallel hulls joined by a deck or structure. A catamaran has two principal hulls; an outrigger canoe has one main hull and a smaller lateral float.
Aka: A crossbeam connecting an outrigger canoe’s main hull to its float. These beams hold the ama at a distance that creates leverage against tipping.
Lapita culture: An archaeological culture of Pacific island communities known for distinctive pottery and long-distance settlement. Lapita voyaging linked early Pacific settlement with the maritime world in which outrigger vessels developed.
Waka ama: A Māori term for an outrigger canoe and for the sport of paddling one. Its contemporary clubs and races sustain outrigger paddling in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Trimaran: A vessel with a central hull and two smaller outrigger hulls. A trimaran’s two side hulls differ from the canoe’s usual single lateral float.
Canoe: A lightweight watercraft propelled by paddles or other means, typically with an open top. An outrigger canoe is a canoe whose stability is augmented by a lateral float.
Polynesian navigation: Traditional wayfinding practices used by Polynesian navigators to travel across open ocean without instruments. Outrigger canoes carried navigators on voyages that depended on reading stars, winds, and swells.

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