Orchid Outriggers is a tour operator on Morro Bay on California’s central coast. They also build the outriggers they use for the tours.
The Hawaiian term for a 2-seat canoe is koholu’a. The Orchid Outrigger is a modern fiberglass composite translation of a design developed and perfected perhaps a thousand years ago. It was not our intent to improve or modernize this classic design. Hawaiian canoe builders developed and refined the small outrigger canoe to a state of functional perfection long before Cook would “discover” their islands. It is hoped the Orchid Outriggers’ Koholu’a will be seen as a humble evolution of a small Pre-contact Hawaiian outrigger canoe with all the utility, seaworthiness, and graceful harmony of the original.
If I’d known about these, who knows, I might never started on the Ulua. I’m not sure what they weigh, or cost, and they can’t be sailed. I had considered a Huki OC-1, but they only carry one person and are quite expensive. These look like a better choice for most tourers, and a very attractive alternative to the ubiquitous roof-top kayak.
That is a nice looking outrigger, but I like yours better.