Holbrook discovers two techniques used by Moce Islanders to navigate their canoes.  the old navigation system emphasizes the skills for sailing, whereas the new method is ideal for the linear travel that is possible using motors. The new system of navigation incorporates more celestial markers than the old. In particular, the old method used the Sun, Moon, and the planet Venus as celestial east-west markers, the new method adds the use of rising and setting stars. 

Clunie gives local media a snapshot of his detailed investigation that the Tongan Kalia was not derived from the Fijian Drua, but rather from a Micronesian rig from Kiribati.  

Abstract: ...The Fijian drua (also called kalia in Tonga and ‘alia in Samoa) are arguably the apex of Pacific naval architectural design and performance, built without metals, some over 100’ long, carrying complements of more than 200, capable of speeds of around fifteen knots and of sailing within four points of the wind....

This paper looks into the Drua and the unique role of the vesi loa (Intsia bijuga) growing on the limestone islands of the southern Lau Group, a boat-building material described as the titanium of the Pacific.

While anthropologists have looked at many aspects of Pacific societies from a variety of perspectives, they have not sought to examine Pacific thought or systems of thought as a distinct or stand-alone category of study. In addition, as Gegeo and Watson-Gegeo stated, when “outside researchers, including anthropologists” have examined other cultures, they have done so from their own theoretical constructs, not from those of the societies they have observed. As for political scientists, they have largely focused on institutions, processes, and political forces and events, rather than on the political ideals and views of Pacific peoples and societies. Economists, for the most part, have been so busy promoting “development” and looking for ways to successfully integrate Pacific societies into the world of western economic rationalism that they have come to see Pacific attitudes as a constraint or barrier to their mission rather than as an area to be taken seriously

WG Foye is an American Geologist who visits and documents his visit to the Lau Islands, a ground of islands that are under Fiji but have close relationship with Tongans.  He goes into detail about the island culture with missionary influence, lifestyle, and contact with Europeans.

TE LAA O LATA OF TAUMAKO: GAUGING THE PERFORMANCE OF AN ANCIENT POLYNESIAN SAIL MARIANNE GEORGE Vaka Taumako Project of the Pacific Traditions Society

...Taumakoan knowledge about ancient sail structures and uses, and their oral traditions and experiences as sailors, shines a light on the limits of what we have learned from recent wind-tunnel studies, and suggests possibilities we have for gauging the performance of at least one ancient sail and the vessels to which it is integral.

UNESCO 2021 Pacific Ancient Voyaging Knowledge 

Overview of indigenous knowledge of the marine environment and ocean navigation by men and women of the Pacific Islands Ancestral Voyaging Knowledge in the Pacific Region UNESCO Local and Indigenous Knowledge Systems Programme in cooperation with Dr. Marianne ‘Mimi’ George

This paper was commissioned by UNESCO with the aim of framing and describing the invisible body of knowledge held by indigenous Pacific Islanders who maintain ocean going voyaging capabilities

Pacific Women’s Knowledge

...The paper provides an overview of the legacy, trends and importance of Pacific women’s ancestral voyaging knowledge (AVK). At this key moment in history, Pacific countries and the United Nations are working together to mobilise knowledge of the marine environment to conserve and protect this globally vital ecosystem. Women hold important and irreplaceable AVK and skills of both local and trans-oceanic scope...

Christian Lehman writes : ..."I started to talk with some of the Marshallese elders about what ; wanted to research and why they all replied with the same word Ekajookok, "it is shameful" The elders was saddened that no one particularly from the younger generations were keeping their traditions alive instead opting for more modern things in life. They did mention the one hope in keeping this tradition alive and that was the non-governmental organization Waan Aelon In Majel (WAM) whose staff was researching, documenting, and training at risk youth in the ancient art of traditional sailing canoe building and sailing... 

Sustainable Sea Transport Talanoa Day 1: The Drua Files.  the Fijian Voyaging Society documents Drua history.

Sustainable Sea Transport Talanoa Day1 : Canoes of Vanuatu. Vanuatu Cultural Centre.

Sustainable Sea Transport Talanoa Day 1: Pacific Voyaging Revival. A short history

Abstract from author, Karen Tu: The main aims of the thesis are to analyse the different usages of indigenous canoes from the late nineteenth century to the present, to discuss how foreign and colonial powers influenced canoe usage, and how indigenous canoes have developed contemporary meanings over time. This comparative study is framed within a broad historical perspective of social and cultural change in the Pacific

The "Vaka" Project, funded by Save The Children, began in April 1983, after 2 years of planning by Jack Lockett, Tuvalu Field Director for Save The Children, and Windworkboat consultant Jim Brown. This pilot project is intended to train Tuvaluans in the construction of efficient sailing craft needed for intra-lagoon trolling and transportation. The need arose as an alternative means of transporting people and harvesting coconuts out on the uninhabited motus dotting the large lagoon. In Funafuti, where petrol costs A$4 per gallon, transportation is an expensive problem, especially when, because of a dry-docked supply ship, fuel is not available.

Laura Thompson describes the tools used to craft a variety of wood-based artifacts in Tonga and Lau Group, Fiji.

Laura Thompson describes in detail the societal structure of the natives of Lau and its evolution and loss of of culture including shipbuilding mastery.

Construction of the world’s largest existing double hulled voyaging canoe, the 108 foot Tongan Kalia Mileniume, was completed in August 2000. The kalia was documented on three research trips. Tuione Pulotu, master chainsaw artist and canoe builder designed the canoe and proposed the project to the Tongan government as a celebration for the New Millennium. This ethnobotanical study documented canoe architecture and plant species used for the Kalia Mileniume, as well as for voyaging canoes of the past.

Abstract: To understand the sailing performance of traditional canoes in Oceania, we replicated ten sail rigs and tested them in a wind tunnel. Measurements of lift and drag forces demonstrate substantial differences in their performance. At low heading angles, from 30° to 80° off the wind, three sails (Massim, Ninigo, Santa Cruz) are remarkable for their higher efficiency. Three other sails (Tonga, Hawaii, Tahiti) are remarkable for their lower efficiency from heading angles of about 90 to 130°. In between, four more sails (Arawe, Micronesia, Vanuatu, Marquesas) have roughly similar performance to each other. The ranking of these sails is followed by a description of their distribution with inferences on historical evolution of canoe rigs.

John Spurway gives a detailed account of Tongan Prince, Maafu's life from Tonga all the way to a Fijian Chiefdom - The Tui Lau.

Veitayaki highlights issues that affect Pacific Island Countries from the lens of a Pacific Islander and what is the way forward.

Clunie argues that the hypothesis of John Martin in his "Account of the Natives of the Tonga Islands" is ill-conceived and that Tongan voyagers replaced their "Tangaloan-rigged" Tongiaki double canoes with pre-existing Micronesian-rigged Fijian drua ‘double canoes’ (Tongan kalia) in the late 18th century is incorrect.  He argues that, while drua/kalia were indeed built in Fiji, evidence indicates that Tongan navigators and Tongan-Samoan canoe-wrights "drove a generationally staged development whereby tongiaki were crossed with a Micronesian-rigged Kiribati outrigger-canoe to produce twin-hulled transitional offspring that were then crossed with similarly hybridised Kiribati-rigged hamatefua ‘outrigger-canoes’ (Fijian camakau) to produce kalia/drua."

Huffer gives us insight on female navigation history in the Pacific which is generally unknown with the exception of many detailed accounts of Marshallese women as expert navigators.

Kaiafa Ledua presents his cultural heritage of sailing in the Pacific, in particular, the type of ship that was commonly built in the region, the purpose of those ships and the significance it had in its era.  The origins of the Drua is not confined to any one country but its construction heritage has origins in Tongan, Samoan and Micronesian indigenous technology.

Twenty different species of plants were used in the construction of a Fijian "camakau." Wood was skillfully chosen by the carpenters with material
constraintsi n mind. The glue, rope, and sail were also constructed from native plant materials obtained from Kabara. The importance of the canoe building technology in the Pacific, and the unique flora of Kabara shaped Kabara into an island of strategic influence in the South Pacific.

This thesis is an exploration of the state and shape of the Marshallese canoe tradition for Marshallese people today, how and why it has changed over time, and how it articulates with broader Marshallese culture and modern way of life.  Leah explores how Marshallese people themselves feel about their canoes and why. She analyze's the tradition of the canoe as a means of understanding broader issues of social change – the nature of modern social change; contemporary issues of identity; and culture change, loss, and revival. She argues that the rapid change of modern Marshallese culture and society is directly linked to changes in the status, practice, and meaning of the canoe in Marshallese life. She further asserts that the changes in the canoe tradition are caused by current social issues in modern Marshallese life and are cyclically linked to myriad other social changes. Finally, she explores a new understanding of the canoe tradition as a way forward into a future shaped according to the terms and values of Marshallese people themselves.