Hōkūleʻa Update | November 3, 2016: Moani Heimuli
Aloha All,
It’s been a bit since my last update and so much has been accomplished here at dry dock since.
Hōkūleʻa has got a new coat of paint on the hulls by the boys of Dawson. Currently they are working on the final coat on the wet decks and deck and also painting the deck boxes and hatch covers. We are really grateful that they are here and are doing such beautiful work.
Big Bill is putting the final coats of varnish on the masts, spars, booms, and sweeps. It takes a lot of patience and attention to detail to make the sticks look brand new again. Bob and Uncle Kimo are fabricating new pieces for the wa’a to make her safer and other pieces for more efficient work. Uncle John has taken the new hoe uli (steering paddle) and shaped it down to a lighter more streamline hoe. He’s also been able to fix up the old paddle that will be sent home in the Matson container. Nakua and Kaleo have been taking care of odds and ends jobs from lashing on the new front nets to making new outriggers for fishing. Kealoha has been assisting the painters which has been a big help. Irish has become our cook since his brother Tom left to go on a trip. Irish has also managed to grind down the old Kualoa anchor and give it a fresh coat of paint. All of this work is being completed in a timely fashion because of the awesome organization by Uncle Bruce who gets about a million questions a day and is always helping where need be. He’s constantly teaching us why we do it this way and how we’ve tried other ways in the past that hasn’t worked. He’s always thinking of ways to make improvements to the wa’a.
The education team, consisting of Uncle Cal and Diane, arrived on Tuesday and are helping out with outreach within the Mariners Museum. Another volunteer, Ann Bell, also arrived recently. She has sailed on Hōkūleʻa in the past to Papahānaumokuākea and she drove all the way from Tennessee just to come see us and help out.
Mālama,
Moani H.
Hōkūleʻa’s Dry Dock Fundraiser
Every year since embarking on the Worldwide Voyage in 2014, Hōkūleʻa has taken several weeks of downtime annually to ensure she is safe, seaworthy and beautiful for the thousands of nautical miles that lay ahead.
Please help fund Hōkūleʻa’s 2016 dry dock efforts.
