“Toots” Minvielle Designed the First Fiberglass By Marilyn Kali

“Toots” Minvielle

Most of us take for granted that the Canoe Club the beach at the Outrigger Canoe Club. Most of the celebrated au- has three beautiful six-man koa racing , and a beach full of thorities on surfing and canoe steering had their chance to try it out. fiberglass canoes that are used for both racing and practice. But few Even Duke Kahanamoku was eager to give it a test run, steering it remember how fiberglass canoes made their way onto our beach, or on a wave from “blow hole” right in to the beach at the Outrigger’s how Outrigger members were involved in their development. dining room. He gave a thumbs up. In 1949, at the suggestion of Bob Fischer, the Board of Direc- “In the construction of the canoe, a “female” mold was first tors authorized the Canoe Committee to build two laminated canoes, made to the required dimensions and supervised control. It resem- however, there was nothing more said about the project. bled a water trough or elongated bath tub. The fiberglass materials In 1952, Dad Center ordered a fiberglass coating on the Club’s were applied to this mold and upon hardening the shell was simply wooden canoes to preserve and beautify them. “This remarkable lifted out of the mold. The finished product, being painted black, new process lays a coat of glass over the wood. The beauty of the cannot be distinguished at a distance from an ordinary koa or wood grain is preserved, the canoes become smooth as glass and no bugs, canoe,” Minvielle added. dry rot or other deterioration occurs. If the canoe becomes damaged “Unless a lot of interest is developed and men with strong or scraped, repairs to a spot is comparatively easy,” he said. backs secured to go up into the mountains of Kona for the large koa Outrigger member A. E. “Toots” Minvielle Jr., founder of the trees, this method of making Hawaiian outrigger canoes may be the Molokai to long distance canoe race, designed the first known thing of the future,” Minvielle concluded. fiberglass canoe in 1954. “So many things on the beach have come in for a coat of fiberglass of late, such as surfboards, , cata- marans, skiffs, that the question arose as to the making of a canoe,” Minvielle recalled in an article in the Forecast in September 1954. So after a proposal by Minvielle, OCC member Phil “Caboose” Carr of Craig and Co., the local distributor of fiberglass materials, engaged Minvielle, an engineer, to prepare plans and drawings for a 28-foot, six- canoe. Minvielle recalled that “The hull of the canoe was designed for surfing purposes. Several other features were incorporated. It was shaped so as to be picked up by the wave better than most canoes. It was made to hold a steadier course and to be a much easier steering The first fiberglass canoe was launched at the Outrigger Canoe Club in 1954. Bow: Jack Craig, builder; “Toots” Minvielle Jr., designer; G. Minn. canoe. The plastic and fiberglass materials seem to have a density Stern: George Downing, William, McCracken, Phil Carr, Fred Steere Jr., greater than that of water taken as 1.0,” he added. Club Captain. “Such being the case, these materials then will not float, neither will a swamped fiberglass canoe. To give flotation, a double or false Kaiolokea Launched bottom, three inches or so thick, was provided for the full length of In 1956, the Club ordered two fiberglass canoes, a 28-foot ca- the canoe and water-tight compartments were put in at the bow and noe for $1,250 and a 34-foot canoe for $1,750. They paid Minvielle stern,” he wrote. $100 for the use of his canoe mold. The smaller canoe was for “Whereas, the outrigger arms or `iako are usually of the hau use by members, and the larger canoe was to be used by the Beach tree which must be found with a suitable curve, the `iako for this Services. canoe were made from three pieces of one by three spruce which On April 7, 1957 Outrigger launched the Kaiolokea (“White were bent to the required curve and uniformity and glued together. Rolling Sea”), the Club’s first fiberglass canoe. The canoe was built The ama or floating outrigger was made from redwood, hollow by OCC Coach George Downing and he reported that it took him inside for lightness and fiberglassed on the outside for surface pro- 359 hours to build. The canoe had a double bottom for added buoy- tection. Other parts of the canoe such as the gunwale, seats, manu ancy when swamping, made from spruce and waterproof plywood or end coverings and wai or cross braces were made of wood and covered with two layers of 11-ounce fiberglass cloth. shaped in the usual manner.” Downing was praised for his job of master craftsmanship in The canoe was built by Jack Craig. building the red and white beauty. “His was truly a labor of love The launching and try-out of the fiberglass canoe took place on and love’s labor was not lost,” reported the May 1957 Forecast.

10 the Outrigger | July 2018 The manu were made with spruce covered with one layer of 11-ounce fiberglass cloth and had water tight compartments built The Kaiolokea was blessed by Auntie Eva Pomroy in 1957. On its shake- within the manu for added buoyancy. down cruise it was captained by Duke Kahanamoku and her builder Coach The gunnels were made of spruce covered with one layer of George Downing. eight-ounce fiberglass cloth. They were secured to the hull with man unlimited) in 2015, and the Koa`e in 2016. The canoes, which 1/4” by 20” brass bolts. Plastic resin was used in between the gun- weigh about 160 pounds, compared to other canoes at 400+ pounds, nel and hull for waterproofing. are light enough that two people can carry them into the water. The The `iako were also made of spruce, laminated to proper curve canoes are used to train in and may be paddled during the long- and covered with one layer of eight-ounce fiberglass cloth. distance season. They have not been sanctioned for regatta use. The ama was made of balsa wood with a one-inch strip of redwood along the center for added strength and covered with two Waikiki layers of 11-ounce fiberglass. The Club will bless its newest fiberglass canoe, Waikiki, on the The Kaiolokea was named and blessed by OCC’s Eva Pomroy. 4th of July at a ceremony that will be part of the paddler’s breakfast The first trial run after the blessing was made by Duke Kahanamoku and pep rally. The Club will race in it for the Macfarlane Regatta. and Downing. The Kaiolokea was 28 feet in length and one of a fleet of 25 In its eleven decades of existence, the Outrigger has been the canoes that Downing built. The canoes were formed on a mold with leader in the resurgence of Hawaiian canoe racing, not only with its fiberglass cloth and plastic resin and weighed around 400 pounds, winning paddlers and coaches, its sponsorship of competitive racing, compared to the koa canoes that weighed from 650 to 700 pounds at its leadership in the development of racing rules and canoe racing that time. organizations, but also in the development of equipment, including Because of their lighter weight, the fiberglass canoes were not canoes, ama, and `iako. accepted for use in canoe racing until the 1960s. Read more about Outrigger’s contributions to modern canoe Downing went on to create his mold, based on the racing on the outriggercanoeclubsports.com website. Waikiki Surf Club’s koa canoe Malia, which became the standard for fiberglass canoes for the next 20+ years. Outrigger raced in the Molokai to Oahu race for the first time in a fiberglass canoe in 1963, finishing in fourth place. The canoe: the Kawelea. After that race the Club returned to koa canoes until 1975 when its second crew crossed the Ka`iwi Channel in the fiberglass canoe Aukai. The first crew raced in the koa canoe Kakina and finished first.

Manu `Ula After the had entered and won the Molokai race in a sleek, fiberglass canoe in 1976, Tom Conner, coach of the Outrig- ger men’s crew, built the Manu`Ula to compete with the lighter and faster Tahitian canoes. OCC won its first Molokai race in a fiberglass canoe in 1977 in the Manu`Ula and again in 1979. The Manu`Ula was owned by Conner, not the OCC. The Outrigger has continued to acquire fiberglass canoes as training canoes, as well as for use in distance races. Koa canoes are still required for all OHCRA and HCRA regattas. In the 1970s and 1980s several OCC members (Jeff Kissell, Hank Lass, Bob Riley and Walter Guild among them) owned the Fiberglass Shop which developed and manufactured the Hawaiian Class Racing Canoe, which soon became the standard for fiberglass canoes around the world. The Club replaced all of its old Malia- mold canoes with the Hawaiian Class Racing canoe by 1987. As new designs have become available, such as the Force Five, Mirage, Bradley and Tiger canoes, the Club has added to its fleet and currently has 22 six-man fiberglass canoes of various designs.

Unlimited Canoes The Club also has three unlimited canoes, the A`o, Koa`e and Manu O Ku. The A`o was acquired in 2014, the Manu O Ku (three- the Outrigger | July 2018 11