[Copied from PCC’s The Villager newsletter, June 6, 1975; reprinted in pcc50.com, October 30, 2012]
[In May 1975]… William “Pop” Sproat of the Hawaiian Village was asked by his old friend, Dr. Kenneth Emory of the Bishop Museum, if the Polynesian Cultural Center had anyone who could thatch the deckhouse of the voyaging canoe Hōkūle’a (Joyful Star), which the Polynesian Voyaging Society had built to sail to Tahiti and back between April and June the following year [as part of Hawaii’s celebration of the U.S. bicentennial].
“Pop” Sproat discussed this with Noël McGrevy (a PCC Islands cultural specialist at the time),
and it was decided that the Samoan Village be asked to do the job.
Coordinator Tavita Tufaga chose Tavita Limutau, Tapusoa Tumu Purcell and Va’aimalu Toilolo to do the thatching.
The three Samoans spent two days at Kualoa weaving the panels and covering the deckhouse framework with what proved to be a watertight, wind-resistant protection from the elements.
It got its test the first night after the work was completed, when the canoe was sailed to Maui.
It was reported that the thatching kept the crew warm and dry during the trip.
Dr. Emory wrote a letter of thanks and commendation to Bill Cravens [the PCC General Manager] stating the fine work our PCC men had done and informing him that they would be made honorary members of the Polynesian Voyaging Society, which entitled them to a trip on the Hōkūle’a before it leaves for Tahiti.