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The oars or paddles that are used with these boats, have a long handle and a flat blade, not unlike a baker’s peel. Of these every person in the boat has one, except those that fit under the awning; and they push her forward with them at a good rate. These boats, however, admit so much water at the seams, that one person at least is continually employed in throwing it out. The only thing in which they excel is landing, and putting off from the shore in a surf: by their great length and high sterns they land dry, when our boats could scarcely land at all; and have the same advantages in putting off by the height of the head.
The Ivahahs are the only boats that are used by the inhabitants of Otaheite; but we saw several Pahies that came from other islands. Of one of these I shall give the exact dimensions from a careful admeasurement, and then particularly describe the manner in which they are built.
| Feet | Inches | ||
| Extreme length from stem to stern, not reckoning the bending up of either | 51 | 0 | |
| Breadth in the clear of the top forward | 1 | 2 | |
| Breadth in the midships | 1 | 6 | |
| Breadth aft | 1 | 3 | |
| In the bilge forward | 2 | 8 | |
| In the midships | 2 | 11 | |
| Aft | 2 | 9 | |
| Depth in the midships | 3 | 4 | |
| Height from the ground on which she stood | 3 | 6 | |
| Height of her head from the ground, without the figure | 4 | 4 | |
| Height of the figure | 0 | 11 | |
| Height of the stern from the ground | 8 | 9 | |
| Height of the figure | 2 | 0 |
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Voyaging Accounts |  |
© Derived from Vols. II-III of the London 1773 edition: National Library of Australia call no. FERG 7243, page 224, 2004
Published by kind permission of the Library
To cite this page use: https://paulturnbull.org/project/southseas/journals/hv23/225.html