Group dreams of Ala Wai ferry

By Mike Leidemann
Advertiser Transportation Writer

For decades people have been talking about making the Ala Wai Canal live up to its name, a way of fresh water. Gary Brookins is doing something about it.

From left, Jennifer Tupuola, Bob Armstrong, Gary Brookins, Nat Towl and Kowl Maruame stand near the fiberglass hull of the electric boat intended to shuttle passengers up and down the Ala Wai Canal. Cory Lum • The Honolulu Advertiser

The boat offers a quiet, non-polluting, open-air view of Honolulu, a water-going counterpoint to the trolleys that have proven popular on city roads.

"It's a natural, developing one of the most underutilized resources we have," Brookins says.

Still, there are plenty of reasons for all the talk, but no action.

"He's going to run into a buzzsaw of obstacles," including opposition from legions of canoe paddlers and kayakers who see the canal as their prime training ground and a maze of city, state and federal regulations that have swamped others before him, said Peter Apo, a consultant for the city on Waikiki issues and director of the Native Hawaiian Hospitality Association.

Brookins is all entrepreneurial optimism, however. His strategy is to build the boat first, then demonstrate its usefulness to all comers.

Brookins; Robert Armstrong, an 81-year-old naval architect, and a small crew of workers have been designing and building the 20-passenger boat for nearly five years, combining gracious old-world looks and craftsmanship with 21st-century technology. He expects it to be launched in time for the upcoming Hawai'i Boat Show at Ko Olina in late May.

"The market potential is there, we just have to provide the right solution," he said.

The Ala Wai has thwarted dreamers like Brookins from its inception. As originally conceived in 1906, it was supposed to run from its present entry near the Ala Wai harbor, past Kapi'olani Park and exit near what is now the Natatorium, allowing water to circulate from one end to the other.

Money for the project ran out in the late 1920s and the canal stopped short of Kapahulu Avenue, creating a catchment basin for urban runoff, trapping sediments and other pollutants, and endlessly filling up with debris and sludge which sometimes reduced the water to only a few inches deep. The latest dredging, the first in 24 years, is set for this summer.

An artist’s rendition shows the 25-foot electric boat built by Brookins Boat Works ferrying passengers along the Ala Wai Canal. Cory Lum • The Honolulu Advertiser

In 1986 alone, four companies offered proposals including water taxis, luxury "u-drive" boats and romantic dinner tours on the canal. All were met by a storm of opposition in the paddling community and rejected by the state Legislature.

Brookins is convinced his electric boat is the right one for a moment of opportunity.

"I grew up on the water. I'm a recreational boater myself. I'm really sensitized to all the issues, and I truly believe this can work for everyone," he said.

Brookins thinks the boat's Victorian design, reminiscent of the Kalakaua era of the Hawaiian monarchy, will give visitors a glimpse of a long-gone, quieter time in Hawai'i. The boat will have a traditional fan-tail launch design with a surrey top, bronze fasteners, marine lighting and interior trim made of ash, Honduras mahogany, teak and koa.

Beneath the comfortable interior the ship is all high tech. It's powered by a 48-volt, four horsepower motor and eight acid-free, absorbed glass mat batteries, which can power the ship all day long at up to 5.5 mph on a single charge without any noise, vibrations or fumes and almost no disruption to the surrounding water.

Brookins envisions the fleet of small boats picking up passengers as they emerge from a day of meetings at the Hawai'i Convention Center and offering a leisurely ride up the canal to landings within walking distance of most hotels or apartments.

"It's an idea that would finally put some life into an old area," he said.

Not that electric boats are anything new. The first electric boats enjoyed a vogue in the 1890s, when elegant battery-powered ships were popular among the wealthy from New York to London to Moscow. They declined only when a new invention called gasoline engines provided more punch, changing the nature of a day on the water from refined relaxation to explosive thrill-seeking.

Beyond the Ala Wai, Brookins sees great potential for the electric boats in other closed Hawai'i waters. A 49-seat version under development using fuel cells instead of batteries could transport visitors from the airport to Aloha Tower, instead of the traditional diesel bus trip down Nimitz Highway. They also could be used for parties in Hawai'i Kai or environmentally friendly tours on Kaua'i's Wailua River.

He's also designing a much larger version of the electric boat that could replace the diesel shuttles the Navy uses to take visitors to the Arizona Memorial.

"Gee, I really like those ideas," Apo said. "There's a lot of opportunities to give visitors a different sense of Hawai'i. The waterfront areas are so rich in history right from ancient times. This would be a compelling way to tell those stories right from the waterline."

So how come nobody has been able to do it before?

"The biggest problem is that we've got a bureaucracy that's really uncreative. They've done everything they can to discourage entrepreneurs up to now," Apo said.

Brookins is undaunted.

"I guess nobody has been silly enough or dedicated enough to battle all the way through before," he said. "Where there's a will, there's a way."