KIALOA originated from a shared love of being on the ocean as outrigger canoe paddlers, living on the windward side of Oahu. We paddled together, raced each other, and afterward talked story and celebrated the shared experiences that brought us together and kept us together - like family ('ohana).
We moved from the Hawaiian oceans to the Oregon mountains and realized that this shared love of being on the water applied equally to the oceans, lakes and rivers of the Pacific Northwest, and to the people who paddle them. Our reverence for being on the water is reflected in this new site, and what you'll find here; a collection of products for being in, on and around the water and stories from the people who use them. It's our intention to enhance the connection to the water and to one another and to share stories from the community that celebrate those connections.
PO'OKELA (Excellence)
We strive for excellence in our product and our service through the pursuit of innovation and commitment to quality.
LAULIMA (Teamwork)
Our employees,our customers, and our business partners - We are all in this together.
MĀLAMA (Stewardship)
We honor the traditions of the past and dreams of the future by caring for people and our environment.
When I was 12 years old, my parents enrolled me in a summer school woodshop class. While most of the students built cutting boards and skim boards for their class project, I told our instructor I wanted to build a model sailboat. I wanted to build a boat named Kialoa.
My fondest memories of my father are the times we spent walking around different places on Oahu. One of our “hangouts” was the Ala Wai Yacht Harbor. On one of our tours, the fleet from the Transpacific Yacht Race was at anchor. Included in the fleet was race winner Kialoa II. In my 8-year-old mind, she seemed the most beautiful thing in the world.
I only saw Kialoa II once, but the impression of this sleek boat never left my thoughts. Kialoa II the sailboat morphed into Kialoa the dream. The dream a child has when looking to the future and thinking what can be. Somewhere along the line I told myself “if I ever have a business, I will name it KIALOA”.
In 1990, my wife Meg and I started an outrigger canoe paddle business on the backyard lanai of my parents’ home. We named the company KIALOA Paddles. In the years since, we have been asked many times if we named the company in reference to the Hawaiian definition for the word Kialoa – swift, fast canoe. The answer is always “no, we named the company after a sailboat owned by Jim Kilroy”.
I still have the model I built of Kialoa II, and while it is not an accurate replica of its namesake she does feature a cast lead keel so she could carry more sail. This model is the only toy I have kept from my childhood. But when I think about it, the model doesn’t matter. Kialoa is really about the time I spent with my father. A time, when he taught me how to dream.
Aloha, Dave Chun
Being together on the water is all about building community. We would love to hear from you
