Repeating motifs carved into the gunnels
The Hilton at Waikiki commissioned Kunato to build a ceremonial canoe this summer and he recruited Hanson. Kunato completed much of the deck in Costa Mesa, California, before shipping it to Kauai, where the two men completed and then tested the canoe in the waters off Anini Beach.
“The client requested a ‘ceremonial’ design that married both traditional and modern. The goal was to create a ‘living artifact.’ I think that I was able to pull it off,” Kunato said.
He wanted it to be sleek, bold and beautiful, with repeating motifs carved into the gunnels and splash covers.
“I am shooting for dramatic contrast, a dark black hull with mahogany trim, exciting lashings,” Kunato said. “That was my vision.”
It’s going to be used for wedding and honeymoon photo shoots.
Hanson said it was the first joint project between the two friends. He created the hull using mahogany with fiberglass. The bottom has three layers of carbon fiber.
“He came up with a cool method of bending plywood into a jig I’ve never seen before in my life,” Kunato said.
The test run at Anini Beach went well with some vacationers taking it out for a spin — the woman sat on the deck, while the man sat in back and paddled, just as it will likely be for real ceremonies.