Almost.  Here at Kamanu Composites we work in a big quonset hut that tends to heat up very nicely under the sun.  The surface of the building often reaches 115 degrees F making certain areas of the shop nearly unbearable.  So we’ve decided to paint our building white.  We’ve seen our neighbor paint his buildling with success and now our government recommends it! As summer closes in on us it seems like there is no better time for a big weekend painting session. All of us in this shop will sweat a little less.

As the 2009 OC-1 season comes to a close, we’d like to thank everyone for the overwhelming support throughout the last year.  The extreme dedication of the OC-1 community has been evident from the first race of the season through to the last.  We went from huddling in the rain waiting for the weather to clear at the Pa’a Thanksgiving Race, to duking it out on the Maunalua Bay lake that was the Koa Nui Race, to putting our heads down and battling the wind for 32 miles in the Solo.  While the nation goes through the worst recession in memory and Hawai’i barely makes it through a season of dismal OC-1 racing conditions, the paddling community has persevered.  We truly appreciate it every time someone calls (we apologize for not always answering the phone, but we promise to call back as soon as we get your message) or stops by the shop.  We know that purchasing a canoe is a huge commitment, so we truly appreciate every person who has supported Kamanu Composites in these hard times.  Let’s hope that the 2010 season has a little more wind (in the right direction) and that the world economy begins to recover in time for all of us to enjoy that season.

Kamanu Composites is looking for some technical skills this summer.   Two possible positions or area specific projects are up for consideration.  Ideal would be college students looking for interesting summer work.

1) Engineer: Looking for some experience with CAD (solidworks or similar preferred).  Mechanical Engineering coursework a plus.  Possible projects include part and mold design, process control, quality control, heat curing systems, or anything related to composites manufacturing.  Depends on interests, experience, and usefulness to the company.  Hands on experience desired, or a willingness and ability to build things.

2) Programmer: Looking for a python hacker.  Web development experience a plus.  Project would be development with django framework for internal management software and public website.  Also could get involved with documentation and shop workflow.  The goal is to make the company more efficient.

For both positions: Must be able to work independently and be confident in solving problems given time and resources. A desire and ability for hands on work is highly recommended.

Email keizo@kamanucomposites.com with resume and any questions.

Julie Borsetti joined Kamanu Composites in March of 2008 as a spray artist.  Part of the job description was to introduce some ‘real’ creativity to the designs of our custom canoes.  Having had no prior experience with the materials and spray techniques we use, she was able to become proficient at the basics in a short amount of time.    It wasn’t long before she started accomplishing color combinations and layouts that have never been done on a canoe before.  Many of these can now be seen on the water and in the hands of customers.  Here are a few of our favorites.

Unfortunately Julie has moved to the mainland, but we would like to thank her for what she has contributed to the company.  She has helped shape our company and established a standard of what’s possible for future customers.

In the past, as paddlers, it’s always been frustrating to see canoe manufacturers with websites that are years out of date.  So one of our goals in starting up a canoe building company was to keep a website with frequent updates.  Now that it’s been almost a year since this website has been updated, we find ourselves in the same position we had hoped to avoid: just another canoe company with an inexcusably static website.

There are all sorts of reasons that could be stated in defense of ourselves and the other builders.  We advertise in print, so it’s not that important to advertise online.  There is already a waiting list, so why bother to update the website.  Updating the website takes time and money, which is better spent investing in our product.  We don’t have any good photos to update the website with.  The list of excuses goes on, but really none of them make the situation any better.

However, one thing is for certain, we no longer look at other manufacturers websites with that same frustration – it’s more a feeling of sympathy and respect.  We’ve found there’s a very long list of tasks necessary to build this business (or any business for that matter) and updating the website has only come to the top a few times.  We would like to change that and will be doing our best to make it happen.

–Kamanu Composites

We have a new canoe called the Pueo entering production. Details, specs, performance reviews and everything else you might want to know about the canoe will be updated on this website as soon as possible.  In the mean time, please enjoy the photos above. On Oahu, a demo canoe of the Pueo will be available after May 18th.  Please email or call for more information.

Thanks everyone who came on May 5th.  To recap, the evening ran quite well, with an estimated 150 people showing up on a Monday evening.  Paddlers from Australia, New Zealand, California, Washington, and all over Hawai’i in town for the Kaiwi Relay were able to make it.  Over 700 raffle tickets were sold for the canoe giveaway — proceeds of which will be donated to the Hawai’i Va’a Association.

For everyone who didn’t come or couldn’t make it, we’ll do it again some time.

THANK YOU to everyone who helped out all night. Thank you to:

Sokchea and Tiare for cooking all day and taking charge of all that.
Peter for helping out Sunday night and all day and night Monday.
Jeremy and Kulani for running the grill.
Kaimana for helping with the raffle tickets and everything else.
David for hooking us up with the ‘Oiwi prizes.
Jodi and Lia for helping cook.Danny and Johnny for the clinic.
Brian Merrit Electric for hooking us up with the show room lights.
Alan for helping before the clinic.
Tyson for bringing down his rudderless for us to display.
Jordan for bringing the paddling machine.
Dagan, Shawn, Julian, Ikaika, and Julie for everything.

Thank you to everyone for all the support.

After being open for the last seven months, Kamanu Composites is finally having a Grand Opening.

On May 5th we will be celebrating the completion of our Kailua shop and introducing our new OC-1 and V-1 canoes. Since the OC-1 season is drawing to a close and everyone is burnt out from training too much,we are going to be hosting a paddling clinic with John Puakea and Danny Ching. Following the clinic will be free food and prize giveaways (including a new canoe). If you are interested in coming please send an email to info@kamanucomposites.com so that we can make enough food.

Starts at 5pm, the paddling clinic begins at 6pm.

We’ve made some updates to the website. We’ll be adding more photos and details in the coming days.

They are coming soon! This website will be updated pretty often, so check back all the time.