The Kekumuhoe`ana (the teacher of the canoe) was the brainchild of Cline Mann, past Club President, Winged “O”, sailor, and ardent supporter of the Club’s athletic programs. Cline had spent years watching novice paddlers trying to learn how to paddle while dealing with waves and wind, and a coach yelling instructions from shore or riding a bike alongside the canoe as it traveled down the Ala Wai Canal.
He discussed the idea with waterman Mike Holmes who bought into the idea of inventing the first stationary canoe trainer. “We discussed how much time was lost in training new paddlers when five sat idle to correct the technique of one.” Holmes explained. “Why not a trainer seating two?” But when Cline, who at the time was on the Board of Directors, presented the idea to the Board the response was tepid and felt by many as unnecessary.
So in 1970 Cline and Holmes decided to design and build the trainer and present the finished product for evaluation. Keith Wallace, who was an engineer serving on the Building and Grounds Committee helped with the design features. They enlisted Keone Downing and Mike Mason to help.
They borrowed a three-man canoe from the Club to make a mold. Mason and Homes made the fiberglass mold in a warehouse where Holmes worked. Mann and Downing built the tank which was to hold the water in the garage maintenance room at the Club behind a curtain to assure secrecy. Wallace engineered the tank, calculating what the water pressure would be on the outside verticals, how far apart the 2x4s had to be to hold that kind of weight against a vertical surface, how to prevent backwash and how to decrease resistance with the training paddle. At first it didn’t work too well as the standard paddle built up too much water on its surface in the first few strokes. They re-engineered the paddle and once done the canoe has the forward motion feel of a canoe.
The completed Kekumuhoe`ana was assembled at the bottom of the driveway next to the employee’s locker room and a demonstration was arranged for the Board. They approved and funded it. In the later 1970s the trainer was moved to its present docking in the garage. Over the years Cline continually improved the design.
The trainer is built out of plywood and fiberglass.
The finished design included a two-seat canoe with a large mirror in the front. The coach can stand right next to the paddlers and teach them technique and form, and the paddlers can watch what they are doing in the large mirror at the front of the trainer.
Special paddles had to be designed for use in the trainer. They have narrower blades so that not as much water is displaced when pulling the paddle through the water, but still provide the same experience as paddling in the ocean with a regular paddle.
The canoe was so well received that other canoe clubs began hearing about it, and complained to OHCRA that the trainer gave Outrigger an unfair advantage over other clubs. Clubs were told to build their own if they felt a trainer would help them. The Club kept the trainer locked and covered so that the design could not be copied.
The trainer is now used by all age levels in the Club’s canoe racing program to help paddlers improve their technique, timing and form.
On Club Day in 1989 the Kekemuhoe`ana was blessed by the Reverend Abraham Akaka in its present location in the basement of the parking garage.
Cline was not only the builder of the trainer, but also the custodian and maintainer of it during his lifetime. After his death, maintenance was taken over by the Club Maintenance staff.
The name of the trainer was painted by Tim Wong, the man who painted the name on our canoes before we went to decals.
Following Cline’s death in 1996, Cline’s trainer began leaking beyond repair. Domie Gose, the Club’s master craftsman and canoe repairer, built a new trainer which the Club uses today. The new trainer was dedicated on March 4, 2004.