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Page 2 of 2 Additionally, the larger floats weren’t large enough. They tended to bury once the boat was just starting to get going the speeds multihulls are capable of running. This is especially true on the wind when flipping forces are highest. Running was much better. Keeping a course paddle steering Hawaiian style was a huge challenge with my inexperience and regular canoe paddle. Experienced Hawaiian steersman use huge, oversized, and massively strong paddles. Now I know why. The S-shaped wake we would leave behind from the occasional, accidental jibe was pretty funny looking. On top of that, I couldn’t hike out to counter the burying of the floats since I was paddle steering and confined to the aft seat “poking” the steering paddle. It all added up to a boat that looked quite beautiful and functional, but did not perform as hoped. Designers, experienced sailors, and folks with a bit of common sense shake their heads and mutter. I realized changes must be made. The canoe’s low freeboard was first on the list of things to fix. It tended to swamp when slicing through boat wakes with the typical load aboard. Bailing and paddle steering aren’t a good mix. I contacted Gary Dierking about possible solutions. My idiotic changes to a beautiful and functional design didn’t make him too happy. He did suggest some solutions that would work. Adding the raised cockpit would work to eliminate the swamping tendency. Larger floats would eliminate the submarine impersonations by my first floats. I remembered how hard it was to get fair floats with the surfboard construction style. This made me seriously think about sailing reefed all the time and call it good.  About this time, Gary was writing a book about building canoes. He asked for some pictures of the Ulua canoe I had built. I was happy to agree to it. He sent some pictures of other canoes that had been built to the design. I completely changed my thinking once I saw those images. I was not going to butcher the beautiful lines of Gary’s Ulua design by adding a box on top! Instead, I was going to go back to the design as intended. Designers, experienced sailors, and folks with a bit of common sense nod their heads and sigh with relief.
Instead of building an addition (more weight) to the canoe, I would build light crossbeams and use just one float that I had already. This is how the Hawaiians intended it anyhow. I might even have a sail built to Gary’s design and use a carbon windsurfer mast to keep things light. Basically I’m going to convert the boat back to the original Ulua stretched to 21’. That modification actually carried the designer’s go ahead. So, this question loomed large… What should I do with all those carefully crafted parts and pieces from the trimaran attempt? The answer to that question will have to come in part three of the story.
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