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Original design teaches keiki paddling, sailing in one boat
By David Lichtenstein
3/21/2008
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Photo By: David Lichtenstein
Captain Bob created a simply s
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Wander along the beach just west of the Kaunakakai Wharf and you may notice an unusual looking outrigger canoe.
"Manu Va'a," as named by its builder Bob Casey, is made from basic door skin mahogany plywood covered with fiberglass. Besides having a flat bottom and hard rails on each of its hulls, what separates Manu Va'a from a standard outrigger is its mast.
The 13-foot-9-inch outrigger has a windsurfer sail and mast. But unlike the typical crab claw sail used sometimes to help outriggers sail downwind, this design actually allows for tacking.
"Anyone can sail downwind," said Casey, a lifetime sailor. "I want to teach the kids upwind sailing."
Casey, 75, is known to some of the local keiki as Captain Bob. On most Tuesdays and Thursdays, a few local kids will come down for after-school lessons on paddling, sailing and seamanship. He also gets the kids involved in keeping the beach clean, where he says he spends two hours a day picking up broken glass.
Captain Bob has never taken money for his lessons, although he will allow families to buy him dinner occasionally to show their gratitude. "I don't like to make much of it," he humbly says.
Originally from Newport Beach, Calif., Casey left the mainland to get away from the competitive, single-hulled sailboat world. A boat captain at the age of 16, Casey was quite familiar with the waters off California. While working at varnishing and painting old schooners, Casey met boat owners from Tahiti and the area captured his imagination.
Casey ended up in Tahiti in 1956 where he learned about outriggers from the local pearl divers. "It got to me, it made me like them," he said. "It was like magic and I've lived like that ever since."
Since then he has gone back to the mainland to work at the Sun Valley ski resort in Idaho, but he has always left in the spring to return to Hawaii. He also worked as a beach captain for the beach cat boats at Waikiki.
Casey built the Manu Va'a on Kauai in a shop across the street from a Wal-Mart where he could buy cheap materials. Casey emphasizes the simplicity of the boat but also its functionality. It's the kind of boat that could be used for fishing, sailing, even to gain access to surfing spots.
The hard rails, said Casey, give it the feel of having a built in keel so the boat can travel upwind. He is still trying to perfect the wind foil design so it can better penetrate high wind puffs. "I'm not there yet."
The goal, said Casey, is "to stoke the kids. First I get them paddling and then sailing and then they get hooked."
By introducing the basics of sailing at a young age, Casey hopes that it will carry through into the school system. He imagines a time when Molokai will have a sailboat racing program that competes against other schools.
"Young people are the only thing that can save this island," he said. By learning the importance of math in navigation and boat design, Casey hopes that he can help inspire youngsters to succeed in school. Sailing can also lead youngsters to the library to learn more about the complexities of navigation and Hawaiian sailing history.
Although a small boat, Casey has sailed 20-30 hours in the Manu Va'a. It can fit two small kids or one average-sized adult but no more. "It really is a prototype," he said.
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