Kaep is a traditional type of double-ended

Proa The ProA is the German basketball league system, second-tier Sports league, league of professional club basketball in Germany. The league comprises 16 teams. Officially the ProA is part of the ''2. Basketball Bundesliga'', which consists of the t ...

sailboat A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails and is smaller than a sailing ship. Distinctions in what constitutes a sailing boat and ship vary by region and maritime culture. Types Although sailboat terminology ...

native to

Palau Palau, officially the Republic of Palau, is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the western Pacific Ocean. The Republic of Palau consists of approximately 340 islands and is the western part of the Caroline Islands ...

. Some of the essential design elements have also been adopted as a modern smaller multihull prototype variant.

Larger context

The

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

and particularly

Micronesia Micronesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, consisting of approximately 2,000 small islands in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. It has a close shared cultural history with three other island regions: Maritime Southeast Asia to the west, Poly ...

gave birth to many different forms of simple sailing craft. Sail plan and hull form differ. Sail plans may include lateen, also known as crab-claw or half-crab-claw, Latin, or triangular. Hull formats include catamarans, doubles, proa, and singles. Presence of a beam spanning a double hull is optional. Likewise, hull end forms and shapes vary greatly. Masts for these types of sailboats can be made with one or two poles. The vessels may be made by hollowing out tree trunks, or may be assembled from planking. Other design considerations include the intended use of the vessel, for fishing, sea voyages or war, and whether they are to be used in sheltered lagoons or in the open sea. Additionally, there is an important and fundamental dividing line between two design types. Some vessels "shunt", that is they change course direction by using the opposite pole of a two pole mast then sailing in the opposite direction (the " Pushmi-pullyu" of the sailing world). Others use a tacking rig, a design that is similar to sloop rigged boats found worldwide.

History

Developed in Palau and used for centuries, the kaep was built from tree logs. A keel carved to a knife's edge was combined with a deep bow, giving it the ability to function in severe adverse weather, wind and waves. Sailors would crowd aft, lifting the bow out of the water, and increasing hull speed. It was used to fish, race and trade. It is a very fast craft. The kaep lacks a

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, airship, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (usually air or water). On an airplane, the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw ...

. Instead it has a "crab claw" sail, and is further controlled by the skillful use of fore and aft trimmoving the boat's balance point, that is the center of resistance relative to the center of effortto control her heading. This is essentially like a wind surfer. See

Sail twist Sail twist is a phenomenon in sailing where the head of the sail is at a different angle of incidence from the foot of the sail in order to change the lift distribution with height. Twist is measured by comparing the angle of a straight line betwe ...

. A traditional kaep is double-ended with a reversible or pivoted (swiveling) mast, so that it can be sailed in either direction. A traditional kaep has an average hull in length, in width, and maximum height of . The kaep has been the subject of commemorative postage stamps in Palau.

Larger context

History

See also

References

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External links