Outrigger Canoe Models

Richard Emerick commissioned traditional sailing outrigger canoe models for the islands in the Pohnpei District: Kapingamarangi, Nukuoro, Majuro, Kosrae, and Chuuk. All are designed with a single outrigger and are called wa. Their hulls are generally made from hollowed out bread fruit tree trunks and sails were made from woven pandanus leaves. Propelled by both paddles and sails, these vessels traveled hundreds and even thousands of miles on trading voyages, drawing on navigation charts made from sticks and shells. These charts mark ocean swell patterns and the ways that these patterns were disrupted by islands.

Outrigger Canoe Model

c. 1950

Truk (Chuuk) Caroline Islands

Emerick Collection

Emerick collected canoe models from a variety of islands in the Pohnpei District.

Outrigger Canoe Model

c. 1950

Kapingamarangi, Caroline Islands

Emerick Collection

Among Emerick’s collection of canoe models, there are subtle differences in hull styles, especially in the design of the prows.

Outrigger Canoe Model

c. 1940

Eastern Papua New Guinea

White Collection

While serving in New Guinea during World War II, Ralph White had an opportunity to acquire this item – a common trade item for service men to collect and bring home with them at the end of the war.

Outrigger Canoe Headboard

Canoe Box

c. 1950

Kapingamarangi, Caroline Islands

Emerick Collection

This box with a tight-fitting lid was designed to store important items in the outrigger canoe’s hull.

Navigation Chart

c. 1950

Majuro, Marshall Islands

Emerick Collection

Stick charts served as instructional aids for preserving navigational knowledge. They were not taken on voyages, but memorized. The charts’ sticks and shells depict wave and current patterns and how islands interrupted this patterns, allowing sailors to determine the position of islands.