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Double-hulled canoe Namahoe, state's largest, could sail by this January

Canoe builders John Kruse (top) and John Stem measure where to place the next cut in the fiberglass hull of Kaua‘i's voyaging canoe Namahoe, under construction in Lihu‘e.

By PAMELA V. BROWN - Special to TGI
Posted: Monday, Nov 17, 2003 - 04:58:57 am HST

LIHU‘E -- Ten years after four men first dreamily proposed that each major Hawaiian island should have its own traditional sailing vessel, the final piece of the vision nears completion.

The Namahoe, Kaua‘i's double-hulled voyaging canoe, may be ready for the water as early as January of next year. Each of the other counties already has its own sailing vessel.

Namahoe (pronounced nama-hoy) will create opportunities for Kaua‘i's youth to experience a first-hand connection with the people who sailed to and settled the Hawaiian islands, said Dennis Chun, a Hawaiian studies instructor at Kaua‘i Community College and one of the five "hard-core" men who have steered this project.

The state's well-known voyaging canoe, Hokule‘a, which was built more than 25 years ago, still sails, but primarily services O‘ahu, making only brief stopovers on Kaua‘i.

"Not everybody's seen it - only a fraction of the island's population," Chun said. "At the same time, there are always new worlds to explore out there, too."

As a longtime Hokule‘a crew member - he affectionately calls the boat "Hoku" - Chun isn't looking to eliminate her place in Hawai‘i, merely add to her family.

"For us, the mother is Hokule‘a. We all came from her," Chun said. "She was the one that gave birth to this new, old way of looking at things."

A creative man, Chun envisions the Namahoe as a way to connect modern students and subject matter with ancient times and teachings. When students' only methods of navigation are to rely upon the stars, the sun, the moon and other natural elements, subjects like science and mathematics will become purposeful, he feels.

When out to sea for days on a boat with finite amounts of food and water, resource management will become real and no longer an abstract concept, he added.

The chances to make history come alive, and are almost unlimited, Chun feels.

"You can start with Mo‘ikeha, a ruling chief of Kaua‘i who was known for his voyages between Kaua‘i and Tahiti about 1500 A.D.," Chun said.

After sailing on Namahoe, students will grasp what a tremendous accomplishment it was for explorers to make landfall after long ocean journeys, he envisions.

"You can look at what else was going on with history or exploring in the 1500s in the rest of the world," Chun said.

Translated to English, "Namahoe" means "the twins," representing the canoe's twin hulls.

It's also the Hawaiian term for the constellation Gemini. "Hawaiians recognized the same mirror images in the sky that the Greeks did," Chun explained.

After the first hull was built, the group of canoe builders began kicking around names. They'd ask each other, "What should we name our child?" Chun said the answer came in two dreams had by the late Dr. Patrick Aiu, one of the original canoe planners.

Aiu told the group that he'd had a dream in which he was on a canoe sailing going from O‘ahu to Kaua‘i, during traditional times. The navigator used the constellation Gemini to steer between the two islands.

Several days later, Aiu had a similar dream in which the canoe was sailing in the reverse direction, still relying on the constellation for bearing, Chun said. Aiu was sure the dreams were a sign.

Upon doing some research, Aiu learned that the constellation of the twins was indeed one of the principal guiding star groups between O‘ahu and Kaua‘i when it's visible during certain times of the year, Chun said.

Kaua‘i's canoe had her name.

It's been a long journey, and a lot of work to get this far, especially when construction can only happen after work and on weekends, said Chun.

"Being excited about something and making it happen are two different things," Chun said. "It's taken longer than I expected. I thought we'd finish it in two years. I was really optimistic. I was really naive."

Initially envisioning at least 20 volunteers helping with construction each weekend, but in actuality having only a handful of people show up each time, Chun and his partners were faced with the harsh reality of how much really needed to be done. It seemed daunting.

"Some days we'd look around and wonder what we were doing," Chun said.

Keeping the informal and revolving group of volunteers energized and able to visualize the dream presented another challenge, especially before the construction shed donated by Grove Farm was renovated, and before the first of the two hulls was completed.

"We'd say, ‘Well, we're going to work on the hale that we're going to build our canoe in,' and all they'd see is this broken-down shed," Chun recalled.

"In the beginning there wasn't even a picture (of the canoe), because we hadn't even gone to see a marine architect at that time."

Credit for keeping volunteers motivated all these years, Chun said, goes to the core group of builders: Chun, John Kruse, John Stem, Marshall Mock and Keith Taguma. When they each speak of the canoe, they bring alive their plans and visions through words and enthusiasm.

When it's launched, Namahoe will join the other traditionally designed voyaging canoes in the state, each with its own character, its own personality, Chun said.

The Big Island's Hawai‘i Loa, which is built of logs, is heavier, and the hull is thicker than the other canoes. It provides a soft ride, giving sailors an idea of what it was like for the ancients. Chun calls it "the Cadillac of the fleet."

"Hoku tends to be a little more lively in the water because it's not as heavy," Chun said. With its more V-shaped hull, it slices through the water more than Hawai‘i Loa, giving sailors a bit more pounding when going over waves - an SUV on Chun's comparative scale.

The Makali‘i, Maui's canoe named for the constellation Pleiades, "is light, shorter, a sporty feel. Kind of like one Porsche," Chun said, laughing.

Namahoe is longer than the other islands' canoes so it can easily accommodate classes of 20 or 30 schoolchildren on day sails. Its length is also a safety feature.

"We don't really have a leeward side of the island that's protected," said Chun. "For safety, we wanted something that could carry people, and that can handle open-ocean swells."

Stretching 70 feet long, what car is the Namahoe like? "I don't know - a limo?" Chun asked.

Chun said that support for Namahoe has come from other canoe communities in Hawai‘i and throughout Polynesia, many members of which want to come to Kaua‘i for the launch.

"They say, ‘Give us a ring, mate. We'll be up there.'"

Pamela V. Brown is a freelance writer from Kapa‘a.