NEW CANOE!!!

The new canoe, Holole'a

About a month ago, I gave up on my search for a used OC-4, and ordered a brand new one from Jay Dowsett (Kailua Kanu). This is the same design as the red and white canoe we surfed in the “OC-4 at the Mokes” video… After much drooling and anticipation, the canoe is finished! Jay delivered it with his son Michael yesterday evening. Kai and I met them at the boat ramp in Kailua to rig it up, and Roxy met us there just as we were unloading it from the trailer. Jay gave me a quick rigging lesson, and we were ready to paddle. We took a quick spin around flat island, and as it was getting a little late, we paddled over to Lanikai (where she will live). Stace was finishing up with OC-6 practice and joined us. We took one more paddle out to the reef and back, then put her away for the night. I didn’t take many pics, but don’t worry, there will be plenty coming!

Sunset in Lanikai

The Canoe is an Opelu (an opelu is a fish – a mackerel scad). Traditionally, an Opelu canoe was used for fishing and laying nets. Now, they are used for surfing and having fun. The wa’a (main hull) is 24′ long, with a beam of 18-19″. The iako are about 7 1/2′ long. The hull weighs about 170#, and all rigged up, the boat is around 200#. It’s fun to paddle and surfs really well. What really sold me on the Opelu, was how well it handles. Even though it is a surfing machine, and has the rocker needed to maneuver on the waves, it paddles efficiently enough to be fun for dinking around (and sails really well when rigged up for sailing – if you have a sunfish rig, let me know…).

I spent a lot of time researching an appropriate name, and came up with Holole’a. Holole’a is a contracted word that comes from holo – “run, sail, ride, go” and le’a (or le’a.le’a) – “joy, pleasure, happiness, merriment”. Put together, it is defined as “a ride, as at a carnival or amusement park”. I think it’s a perfect name for a surfing canoe; riding for joy, pleasure, happiness, or merriment. That is what this canoe is all about. Aloha.