An Oahu woodworker’s old Hawaiian-style surfboards are works of art

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – When Leleo Kinimaka crafts a custom piece, sometimes the wood dictates the path.

“Say, for example, if you’re making an Alaia board, you work on one end of what you thought would be the nose of the board, you look at it and you think, ‘I think that’s the tail . The tail looks better. “You end up flipping it,” he said.

Alaia surfboards are shaped in the old Hawaiian style. Kinimaka makes them from koa and other woods. His creations are beautiful.

“I’m an artist,” he said.

Two of his alaia boards were recently auctioned to support UH Athletics. The one made out of koa cost $5,000. The other plank, made of mango wood, fetched $1,600.

“That was a departure from boards I had made. I said to myself I would build 12 boards in honor of Duke Kahanamoku and the first year surfing became an Olympic sport,” he said.

Kinimaka’s father was a beach boy in Waikiki and Kauai who studied with Duke. Leleo grew up around the ocean hence his passion for shaping paddles and boards.

But his other creations are also impressive.

“I like to share the origin of where the species grew before we turn it into anything,” he said. “It also means a lot. For me, I believe the tree carries a lot of mana.”

Many people buy his woodwork to decorate their homes including his planks which have gone to people and places as far away as Italy and Australia.

“I have a gallery in New York that every time they sell one, they buy another,” he said.

Kinimaka owns Royal Hawaiian Woodwork. He takes his time with each piece he shapes, sands and stains. It shows in the finished products, which are his works of art.

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