The Ka Mo’i is one of the Outrigger Canoe Club’s oldest koa canoes arriving from the Big Island in the early 1930s. It surfed the waves of Waikiki with beachboy Sam “Steamboat” Mokuahi Sr. at the helm for many years taking tourists for unforgettable rides in Waikiki’s famous surf. When the Outrigger moved to its Diamond Head location in 1964,the Beach Service was discontinued and the Ka Mo’i sat in the warehouse. After Duke Kahanamoku’s funeral in 1966, the canoe was loaned out to various locations. In 1982 it was leased to a hotel on Kauai and survived both hurricanes Iwa and Iniki. In 1999 Outrigger members brought the canoe back to the Club. Led by Tay Perry, members donated a total of 1,155 man hours restoring the canoe. The Ka Mo’i was launched again in a simple Hawaiian ceremony conducted by Hokule’a navigator Kawika Kapahulehua at Sans Souci Beach on February 25, 2001. It was paddled out to sea and then back to the Club for its homecoming blessing which was conducted by the Rev. Thomas Van Culin. The Ka Mo’i now hangs in the Club Bar which was renamed the Ka Mo’i Boathouse in its honor. This video by Paul Dolan covers the blessings in 2001 and the hanging of the canoe in the Boathouse. For more information about the Ka Mo’i click here.
