Story: Waka – canoes

While many hulls were fashioned from a single tree, some had an extra section, known as a haumi, to lengthen the canoe. The haumi tūporo was a simple join where the hull and haumi were square cut and joined together. The haumi kokomo, shown here, was a superior method. A tongue shape was cut into the hull, and fitted into a matching opening in the haumi.