Joseph Banks's Descriptions of Places, South Sea Islands, page 153

Page 153

Joseph Banks's Descriptions of Places

South Sea Islands

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South Sea Islands (continued)

18 inches high and about 4 feet in lengh. Such a number of peices must necessarily be framd and fitted together before they are sewd and this they do very dexterously, supporting the Keel by ropes made fast to the top of the house under which they work and then each plank by a stantion: so that the canoe is compleatly put together before any one part of her is fastned to that which is next to it, and in this manner supported till the sewing is compleated. This however soon rotts in the salt water: it must be renewd once a year at least, in doing which the canoe is intirely taken to peices and every plank examind, by which means they are always in good repair. The best of them are however very leaky for as they use no calking the water must run in at every hole through which the sewing is past; this however is no great inconvenience to them who live in a climate where the water is always warm, and go barefoot.

For the convenience of keeping these Paheis dry we saw in the Islands where they are usd a peculiar sort of houses which were built on purpose for their reception, and put to no use but

Voyaging Accounts

© Derived from State Library of NSW Transcription of Banks's Journal page (vol.1) 400, February 2004
Published by kind permission of the Library
To cite this page use: https://paulturnbull.org/project/southseas/journals/-banks_remarks-153.html