KA NIHO & The Pae Po’o REVIVAL

Of all the recreational wave-riding accessories an average beach-goer might try in their lifetime, the belly board has usually been the most accessible, the easiest to learn, and arguably the most fun. Of all the forms of wave-riding that humanity has ever experienced, gliding on gentle waves while riding a small board not much larger than one’s torso may well be the oldest.

Since the 1980s, for most Americans, the quintessential belly boards were the Morey “Boogie” Bodyboards - brainchild of former professional surfer and prolific inventor, Tom Morey. Originally from Michigan but raised in the sunshine and waves of Southern California, Morey worked as a mathematician, a professional musician, and an aerospace engineer before establishing himself as a plastics developer and surfboard design innovator. Among his more notable creations are the “concave nose pocket”, a surfboard Coaund Lift nose, as well as one of the first commercially viable surfboard fin interchange systems for his newly innovated polypropelene fins. In 1971, using an electric carving knife to shape a mass of polyethylene foam, Morey developed the original “Boogie” Board: a 6 foot finned board with an unusual epoxy glass bottom. The unconventional board was ultimately a commercial disappointment. But the failure motivated Morey to split a 9 foot foam block at the middle, using each half as one full-sized board, and finishing it with tape and glue. Soon, Morey began to sell do-it-yourself kits with pre-cut, unfinished foam boards, waterproof tape, and deck skins for $25. By the end of that year, a deal with Gordon & Smith Surfboards allowed Morey’s “boogie” boards to enter the open market where it eventually became a staple of resort hotels and family beach excursions alike.

Tom Morey, inventor of the “Boogie” Bodyboard. Image courtesy of moreybodyboards.com

While Morey might have invented the “boogie” board, the belly board itself had been a staple in Polynesian waves for more than a millenia. Before the advent of keels or fins, the bottoms of most boards were flat, wide, and blunt. Prior to the availability of commercial plastics, planks of acacia, mulberry, or thespesia lumber were lovingly shaped by master board carvers to the specifications of an accomplished rider, using handmade tools and simple machines sourced from nature. Before the “boogie” board, before Tom Morey, before “surfboards”, there was the pae po’o.

18th century lithograph of polynesian swimmers and wave-riders.

Prior to the exploration of Pasifika by Europeans and Americans in the late 18th century, Hawaiians generally rode one of four types of papa he'e nalu (wave-riding boards): the papa li'ili'i, the papa olo, the papa alaia, and papa kiko'o. The smallest of these - the papa li'ili'i - typically measured 5 feet long or less, from15-20 inches wide, and around an inch thick. Certain papa li’ili’i were meant to be ridden standing, but the most natural way to ride small boards became synonymous with a typically underappreciated animal, common to Hawaiian beaches on nearly every island. To be clear, the original reference and most proper name for a traditional Hawaiian belly board, riding prone, is pae po’o - not ‘paipo’, as some have come to call it. Pae refers to the Hawaiian rock crab; po’o refers to the head, and implies the correct orientation for riding the board on a wave (head-first). Essentially, pae po’o boards are so named because they are mounted flat, riding head-first, arms close to the body - like the stance of a crab. In the late 19th century, as the popularity of wave riding in the Hawaiian style gained incremental popularity across the American West, so too did the pae po’o. Today, pae po’o boards - commonly called “paipo” - are enjoying a healthy post-modern renaissance in waves all over the world, bolstered by board shapers in Hawai’i as well as the US, Australia, Japan, and beyond.

In our continuing mission to revive the awareness and popularity of traditional Hawaiian wave-riding, KAIROU Waterman is proud to introduce its first, customizable “made to order” pae po’o board: Ka Niho.

Ka Niho - KAIROU Waterman’s first customizable papa pae po’o (traditional Hawaiian belly board)

Ka Niho is a return to basics: a traditional, simple shape, hand-finished in the Hawaiian style. Its classic outline creates a wide and stable platform that’s both comfortable to paddle and so much fun to ride. Plys of cedar, pine, or birch woods are selectively laminated to balance stiffness and flexibility, improving the overall ride. A bullet nose and 50/50 rails at the widest point give way to sharp trailing edges and a thinned “crescent moon” tail, enabling the rider to hold their line whether in the pocket of a shallow barrel or cutting back across the open face of a wave. The KAIROU mon - a mark of unparalleled quality and authenticity - is subtly inlayed at the board’s tail. Available in lengths of 2-5 feet, and fully customized to any rider’s particular needs, Ka Niho may quickly become the most fun you can have in the water (without standing up).

The KAIROU Waterman pae po’o (belly board), Ka Niho, will be available for custom order in the KAIROU Makeke by early Summer of 2023. Check back soon for updates.