Mai-Tiki Tiki Fountain

Some of you may know about the Tahitian Resort Motel in Holiday, Florida.

They have lots of great tikis, but Marian and I always liked the poolside fountain the best.

Now the fountain is in our own private tiki garden.

We are really happy with how the tiki and the pond turned out.

Wayne Coombs of Mai Tiki sculpted it for us.

Wayne can do all sorts of styles. Check out his gallery in Cocoa Beach, if you get the chance, or visit his Website: http://www.maitiki.com

I commissioned the fountain and it was completed in a few weeks. It was carved
from a fiberglass material. It is hollow and light weight, but really strong; perfect for an outdoor application.

Mahalo Wayne. You're the greatest!
KG

[ Edited by: Kailuageoff on 2004-11-29 06:16 ]

That's incredible! I'm adding that to my Christmas list to Santa right now!

Really nice you guys.
We have two pre-formed ponds similar to yours in our backyard. Installed them ourselves and we have wanted a tiki fountain to replace the pump fountain that currently just spouts up from the middle of the larger pond. I thought I would just have to carve one myself and figure out the water line details as I went. I've done a couple of sketches but don't have a proper sized log to use anyway. I also have had some concerns about the weight and stability issues which an elevated wooden tiki would present. This
is a great alternative solution. Can you give us a hint at what something that size would cost to produce? Thanks for sharing your pics!

Thanks for the praise. Setting up the pond was easier than I thought it would be, and adding the fountain was simple. Because the tiki was a commission, I'm unsure about quoting a price. Maybe it would be less since Wayne has already made one for us. I would contact him directly via his website and ask about it.
Also, if you give him a photo or a drawing of what you want, he can probably do that as well. He is super easy to work with, but he doesn't give his art away either. The fountains don't weigh much, so shippping shouldn't be very expensive.
KG

[ Edited by: kailuageoff on 2004-11-29 18:31 ]

I've been wanting to make a version of that fountain for a long time. You guys have inspired me to make that my next project. I've been making big Moai spitting fountains lately, and am anxious to do something different. I'll post it up when I'm done.
p.s. I ship all over!

Seamus,
I thought about asking you to do it, but Wayne and Beki are part of our local Ohana, and he's a Florida carving legend besides. Plus he drove it to my house in exchange for a bottle of fine Swedish Vodka.
Can't wait to see your rendition of this, however.
Skol!
KG

No problem KG. Besides, I would've had to ask for at least 2 bottles to drive it to you from Oregon!
I wouldn't mind having a custom Wayne Coombs myself.
Cheers!

I was just in Cocoa beach last week, the surf sucked, but man, I love Waynes tikis, there all over the place down there, I'm usually there on the weekends, so I can only window shop, I'll have to order one online for myself! I love ponds and fountains, very relaxing!

Hey where's the shoulders?

I swear that original tiki has shoulders.

Ah, maybe I'm wrong.

When I saw your post, it was right above a post about Rock Candy syrup. Now I can't stop humming the tune "Big Rock Candy Mountain" with the words "Backyard Tiki Fountain". That will be stuck in my head all day.

Very nice fountain and pond. Good choice, and nice work by Wayne as always.

-Duke

On 2005-05-26 05:23, FLOUNDERart wrote:
Hey where's the shoulders?

I swear that original tiki has shoulders.

Ah, maybe I'm wrong.

He's burried up to his neck in lava rock...

Actually I already told Flounder this story, but others may find it interesting.

I have stayed at the hotel where the orginal fountain is many times. On every visit the fountain was surrounded by ferns and other vegetation, but looked great.

When I asked Wayne Coombs to make a replica for me I gave him some pictures of it because he had not seen it in person. Once he started carving it, he became convinced it had shoulders and wanted to add them. I told him no way did I want shoulders because the original was just a neck-up tiki.
Beki Coombs looked at my pictures and told him the same thing. No shoulders Wayne.

Anyway, Mr & Mrs. NeptuneTiki and Marian I went to Tarpon Springs in April for a weekend trip and stayed at te Tahitian Resort. The hotel had completely refurbished the fountain and removed the overgrown plants to expose -- you guessed it -- a set of shoulders...

Seeing that really freaked me out because Wayne was convinced it had shoulders even though he had never seen them.

Obviously, Wayne Coombs is a man with some very serious tiki mana going on. If you want him to carve something for you, I suggest you just go with his instincts.
KG

On 2005-05-26 06:32, boutiki wrote:
When I saw your post, it was right above a post about Rock Candy syrup. Now I can't stop humming the tune "Big Rock Candy Mountain" with the words "Backyard Tiki Fountain". That will be stuck in my head all day.

Very nice fountain and pond. Good choice, and nice work by Wayne as always.

-Duke

Mahalo Duke. Have you heard anything from BK? He left some unfinished business with me. Hope everything was completed at your end.