Lakatoi



Lakatoi (also Lagatoi) are multiple-hulled sailing watercraft of Papua New Guinea. They are named in the Motu language and traditionally used in the Hiri trade cycle.

Lakatoi (whose literal meaning is three dugouts) are fashioned from two or more dugout logs fastened together to give stability and cargo-carrying capacity. The two or more dugouts are joined by booms, with a platform built on top. The sail is a crab-claw sail. Horridge (2008) discusses the rig and how the craft is manouvred.