Are the boat Designs in Disney's "Moana" accurate to pre-contact Hawaiian designs?

by Budobudo
b1uepenguin

Sorry haven't seen the movie yet, but if you asking about the single hulled canoe that appears on the promo material that features Moana and Maui, then yes, from the looks of it it's basically the sort of short distance or archipelagic va'a that existed throughout the Pacific, certainly not just Hawaii (the movie is an amalgamation of pan-Polynesian myths/cultures). Though much larger double hulled canoes did existed as well and would have been more common for long distance sailing, especially between island groups.

These types of vessels- especially single hulled outriggers are still found all over the Pacific and definitely didn't go out of style after European contact- though some colonial regimes would later at least restrict their ability to sail between archipelagos. They weren't always too fond of islanders that sailed without regard across the new colonial boundaries that had been drawn by European powers.