raft, to hew, to fell trees
楂 centers on working with wood: cutting, hewing, or felling trees, and the resulting raft made from logs.
楂 combines 木 (tree/wood) with 查, which likely contributes the sound. The character relates to woodworking and rafts.
The left side is a tree 木, and the right side 查 looks like a platform or structure. Picture hewing a tree into logs and lashing them together to make a raft.
For サ, imagine sawing a tree to build a raft: saw -> サ, and the wood 木 is being cut.