1 Introduction 



Background 



Kahului Harbor is the only deep-draft harbor on the Island of Maui and the 

 busiest port in Hawaii outside of the Island of Oahu. The harbor is approxi- 

 mately 94 miles' southeast of Honolulu and is conveniently located on Maui's 

 north shore (Figure 1). 



The harbor is exposed to wind and waves from the north and northeast. The 

 northwest end of Maui shelters the harbor from waves arriving from the 

 northwest The harbor is protected by two large breakwaters. High energy 

 waves generated by intense winter storms in the north Pacific Ocean routinely 

 attack the breakwaters. Hurricanes can also create large waves incident to the 

 harbor. The breakwaters have a long history of construction and repair (Markle 

 and Boc 1994; Sargent, Markle, and Grace 1988). Breakwaters are armored with 

 molded concrete units of up to 35 tons on the trunk and 50 tons on the head. The 

 harbor entrance is a 660-ft opening between the breakwaters. 



Commercial piers are located in the southeast part of the harbor. Piers are 

 used by a variety of vessels including barges, container ships, passenger cruise 

 ships, and fishing vessels. Pier 1 accommodates the larger overseas vessels and 

 barges. Water depth in the Federal entrance channel, harbor basin, and commer- 

 cial pier areas is 35 ft. 



Two canoe clubs are located along the shore immediately southwest of Pier 2. 

 A large coral stockpile has been placed inside the harbor, adjacent to the west 

 breakwater. This area, under the jurisdiction of the County of Maui, is being 

 considered for park development A public boat ramp is located near the land- 

 ward end of the stockpile (Figure 2). The southern shore of the harbor, between 

 the boat ramp and canoe clubs, includes a revetment along Kahului Beach Road 

 and several rock groins further east. 



Because of Kahului Harbor's size and importance (both recreational and 

 commercial), the Harbors Division, Department of Transportation, State of 



A table of factors for converting non-SI units of measurement to SI units is presented on page xi. 

 Chapter 1 Introduction 



