Malia (canoe)

Coordinates: 21°17′30″N 157°50′5″W / 21.29167°N 157.83472°W / 21.29167; -157.83472
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Malia (Hawaiian canoe)
Honolulu, Hawaii
Coordinates21°17′30″N 157°50′5″W / 21.29167°N 157.83472°W / 21.29167; -157.83472
Arealess than one acre
Built1933
ArchitectJames Takeo Yamasaki
Architectural styleWooden dugout canoe
NRHP reference No.93001385[1]
Added to NRHPDecember 17, 1993

Mālia is a Hawaiian-style wooden racing

outrigger canoeing hulls, including those later molded from fiberglass.[2] Hawaiian racing canoeist Tommy Holmes observed that Malia "remains a prototype for contemporary racing canoes [and] was among the first canoes built exclusively for the sport."[3] The canoe was listed on the State and National Register of Historic Places in 1993.[1]

Background

Jonah Kūhiō Kalaniana'ole was an early aficionado and commissioned the first canoe specifically built for racing, the ʻAʻa in 1902.[4] Despite weighing 620 lbs., it won many races. Lighter and more streamlined canoes continued to evolve in the following decades as common fishing canoe designs were adapted for racing purposes.[2]

Design

Mālia, a ~40-ft., 400-lb. canoe designed by James Takeo Yamasaki,

leeward side of the Big Island, the site where the canoe was made. The Outrigger Canoe Club bought the original Mālia in 1940,[2] and the Waikiki Surf Club acquired it in 1948, keeping it in use until 1988.[6]
From 1950-1951, the design of Malia was modified by Froiseth, Downing, and Choy.. After the race, the Malia had a significant impact on the historical development of the racing canoe. According to Tommy Holmes:

An interesting sidelight of the first Catalina-to-Newport race in 1959 was the alleged pirating of a fiberglass plug of the Malia. This shell, reportedly taken without authorization while the Malia awaited shipment back to Hawaiʻi, was later made into a mold. From this mold, and the hulls that came from it, other molds were made. The majority of the fiberglass canoes in use in Hawaiʻi and California today have been made from these molds. Thus the Malia inadvertently sired a noble fleet of fiberglass-and-resin-canoes.[7]

In 1960, a California-made fiberglass model of the Mālia competed in the annual paddling race across the

Gulf Coast, and Great Lakes across the United States.[2]

Usage and importance

The term Malia canoe now refers to a class of Hawaiian-style outrigger canoes that follow the design of the original Mālia, even when made of fiberglass. Every serious outrigger canoe club, however, aims to acquire at least one Mālia made of koa wood and other traditional materials.[2][8][9][10][11]

References

  1. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Steve West (2009). "FAQ: Outrigger Canoes - Types Used for Racing". KANUculture: Ocean Sports Media Services. Archived from the original on 2009-07-09. Retrieved 2009-06-16.
  3. ^ Holmes 1993, p. 125
  4. ^ "Volcano Gallery: Hawaiian Canoes". Retrieved 2009-06-16.
  5. ^ a b Holmes 1993, p.128
  6. ^ "Waikiki Surf Club: History about the Canoes". Archived from the original on 2004-07-26. Retrieved 2009-06-16.
  7. ^ Homes 1993, p.146
  8. ^ "Kihei Canoe Club: Canoes". Retrieved 2009-06-16.
  9. ^ "Oceanside Outrigger Canoe Club: Our Canoes". Retrieved 2009-06-16.
  10. ^ "He'e Nalu Outrigger Canoe Club, Marin-Sonoma: About Us". Archived from the original on 2009-10-15. Retrieved 2009-06-16.
  11. ^ "Marina Del Ray Outrigger Canoe Club: Racing Outrigger Canoe Designs - Origins to the Present". Archived from the original on 2008-09-08. Retrieved 2009-06-16.

Further reading