The
outrigger part of an
outrigger canoe. That is, a hollow, typically
fiberglass, narrow, long thingie that runs parallel to the
hull about 4-6 feet away from it, and is connected to the hull with two
perpendicular iakos. This gives the
canoe incredible
stability, especially in waves. It's traditionally rigged to the left of the main hull. It's still possible to tip over, if you lean to the right! When the canoe becomes unsteady, you have to lean to the left to keep it from flipping over. If you rigged a canoe with two amas (one to each side), it would actually be less stable than a canoe
with one ama. This is because with two hulls, they are always both contacting the water, but with three, it's possible to have the two amas contacting
the water on wave peaks, with the hull suspended in the middle over a wave
trough. This puts incredible
stress on your
rigging, and can cause nasty
breakage. (Origin:
Hawaiian.)
Beth