In the late 1980's after several visits to the Cook Islands in the South Pacific, I became familiar with the well-known inter-island shipping problems in the country.

In fact, throughout the island countries of the Western and South Pacific (Indonesia, the Philippines, and those in Polynesia and Micronesia), there is not an efficient, fast and inexpensive means for outer island planters to transport their crops to markets on the larger, more populated islands. Conversely, there is no similar means to deliver equipment and supplies to outlying communities from the larger islands that are served by transoceanic freighter service.

Existing inter-island powered service is expensive and requires continuing government subsidies to pay for the high cost of fuel. Maintenance is minimal due to lack of funds and service is irregular. Traditional Western sailing vessels (e.g. the inter-island schooner) are costly and require a large crew, which raises operating (labor) costs.

I had studied yacht design as an avocation and undertook to design a simple sailboat, based on traditional Micronesian design and incorporating advanced sailing theory, which might satisfy these inter-island shipping needs.