Catamaran businesses wary of permit plan

Waikiki catamaran operators say they fear a state proposal to shift them to a commercial permit system would lead to a bidding process and ultimately put them out of business.

"Smaller companies like ours would not be able to compete against larger ones," said Mana Kai catamaran owner Woody Brown Jr., son of the beachboy whose catamaran design started a new kind of commercial sail tour.

Currently, Waikiki’s seven catamaran operators pay an $8.50 annual registration fee and a small percentage of gross income in exchange for a berth at Kewalo Basin or the Ala Wai Harbor. The percentage depends on the size of the slip.

Brown, for instance, said he pays 2 percent of gross revenues in harbor fees.

Now the state wants to collect an additional 3 percent of monthly gross — or $200, whichever is greater.

Based on average monthly gross receipts for an operator of $32,000, a Waikiki catamaran would generate $960 per month in fees, said Ed Underwood, administrator of the state Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation.

The Waikiki catamaran businesses are the only commercial operators not required to pay the commercial use fee, Underwood said. In May 2008 the Land Board approved commercial use permits and fees for 10 catamaran operators at Kaanapali, Maui.

The division has sent out letters to Waikiki catamaran operators requesting a meeting to discuss the issues and hear their recommendations. Waikiki catamaran operators say that once they’re included in the commercial permit system, they’ll be more vulnerable to open bidding.

Underwood said the division will make recommendations and meet with the Land Board on Oct. 14.

Underwood said it is not his intention to put the operations out to bid.

But Brown said that when government officials imposed a commercial fee on surfboard rentals near the Moana Surfrider, they made assurances that they would not put the concessions out for bids.

Eventually they did, he said.

Sheila Lipton said her husband, Don, operated the Kepoikai II catamaran from the 1960s until his death six years ago, when she decided to continue the sailing tradition.

Lipton said the business, which has eight part- and full-time employees, doesn’t make much money after expenses.

She said she’s willing to pay more in fees but wants to retain the registration system.

The price for a ride on Lipton’s catamaran is $20 per adult.

"We’re not making gobs of money," she said. "That’s for sure."

Woodbridge "Woody" Brown, who built his first hollow plywood surfboard in California in the 1930s, built the lightweight catamaran ManuKai in Honolulu in 1947. His son said that opened up the market for lightweight sailing vessels to pick up cruise passengers on the sandy shores of Waikiki.

"It brings tourists to Hawaii," he said. "A lot want to come to Hawaii because they want to ride the Waikiki catamarans."

Woody Jr. said he loves his work and carrying on the family tradition with the current vessel, Mana Kai.

"There’s a lot of aloha, especially doing what my dad did," he said.