A water war between a savvy newcomer to Hawaii’s visitor industry and a more-than-70-year-old kamaaina company could generate waves in Waikiki, where both are introducing floating ocean playgrounds.

On one side is California businessman Bob Norton, who came to Hawaii to retire but changed his course. The entrepreneur couldn’t resist the opportunity to relaunch the failed KanDoo! Island catamaran as the Waikiki Ocean Club.

While none of Norton’s vast business experience has included water activities, his profile is listed on Forbes.com’s world business leaders page. He’s been a tax accountant, a banker and an investor, and at one time he was the owner of the nation’s largest inland archival records company.

"This is the hardest business that I have ever undertaken," Norton said.

On the other side is Pacific Ocean Sports LLC, an affiliate of Roberts Hawaii, which has made a multimillion-dollar investment over the past two years in Hawaiian Ocean Thrills, an ocean activities playground off of Waikiki Beach.

Though Norton beat out the company’s bid to buy the former KanDoo!, Roberts Hawaii has visitor industry ties that go back decades. The company, which was started in 1941 in Hanepepe, Kauai, when Robert Iwamoto borrowed money to buy a single taxicab, has grown into Hawaii’s largest tour and transportation company, with 900 vehicles and 1,400 employees.

"We’re locally owned and employee owned with very strong local roots," said Roberts Hawaii Vice President Roy Pfund. "We’re a kamaaina company that’s worked very hard to grow our business. We have great people working for us who know Hawaii well."

Roberts has purchased the Aikane III (another KanDoo! vessel) for use as a platform vessel which will be moored off Waikiki Beach.

While Roberts will offer a helmet dive activity from the Aikane, it plans to use a second vessel, the Moana, as a platform vessel for its thrill craft permit area, which will include Jet Ski and "banana sled" options, Pfund said.

The company has also purchased a shuttle boat, called the Baby Doo, to transfer passengers between the Aikane and the Moana, Pfund said.

Roberts will begin its Hawaiian Ocean Thrills with 12 workers, but Pfund expects to expand the number of jobs as demand picks up.

The company already is "refurbishing a second platform and activity vessel, the Wild Thing, and looking at purchasing an additional shuttle vessel," he said.

Given Waikiki’s competitive environment, Pfund said, it "probably will be difficult for two (new water attractions) to survive."

Roberts’ chief competitor, Norton, has invested about $1.8 million establishing his new business, which operated from last June to September during a soft opening as the Red Dolphin. Waikiki Ocean Club could employ as many as 200 once day and night shifts begin, Norton said.

"I really have not thought about Roberts," said Norton, who has been logging 10- to 12-hour days leading up to the rollout. "I think there is enough room for everyone. I hope that they do well, but I hope that we do better."

Norton will have a business blessing at 10 a.m. Tuesday followed by open houses from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday and the vessel’s official start on Friday.

Snorkeling, paddleboarding, helmet diving, kayaking, trampolines, diving platforms, Jet Ski riding and parasailing are some of the activities that will be offered aboard the 10,000-square-foot ocean playground, which will operate daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. By summer, Norton hopes to begin offering evening excursions.

Waikiki Ocean Club tickets will sell for $89 for adults and $69 for youth. Kamaaina rates are $79 for adults and $59 for youth. Children 3 and under are $25. Some activities will cost extra. A full bar and lunch menu will be available.

In Norton’s corner are Mary Charles, former owner of the destination-management company MC&A, and Paul Casey, who previously was CEO of Hawaiian Airlines and led the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau.

"This attraction is exactly what Waikiki needs," Casey said. "Every visitor would like to be able to actually experience Hawaii’s waters. Some seek a fast-paced, thrilling adventure; others would simply like to learn to paddleboard or snorkel. This offshore playground meets every need with just one ticket."

Charles and Casey, who have long-established visitor industry relationships in Hawaii, are spearheading Norton’s marketing as well as developing industry partnerships. Their efforts helped secure a contract with Hilton Hawaiian Village, which will allow Norton to sell tickets on property and pick up guests via three rigid inflatable boats (similar to those used by the Navy SEALs) at a floating pier.

Hilton is excited to be part of one of Waikiki’s first new major attractions in more than 20 years, said Jerry Gibson, area vice president for Hilton Hawaii.

"We have a great deal of people that repeat to our island, and they want to have some new attractions. They’ve used many of our activities over the years. They still enjoy them, but it’s time to do something new," Gibson said.

Rick Egged, president of the Waikiki Improvement Association, said the Waikiki Ocean Club could enhance the destination.

"I think it’s good that we get new attractions in Waikiki," Egged said. "We always want to make sure when projects like this are undergone that they are done in a way that will produce a product that is an asset to Waikiki. We believe that this project has been done in that way."

Egged was unfamiliar with Hawaiian Ocean Thrills but said that Roberts is a longtime Waikiki tourism player.

"They have extensive delivery networks," he said.

Roberts entered Hawaii’s water attraction arena in the 1980s, when it began offering visitors daily sunset sails on the Alii Kai Catamaran. For a time the company also ran HOT Island, which was a specialized Jet Ski-type boat activity, from Keehi Lagoon, Pfund said.

Roberts launched Hawaiian Ocean Thrills on March 16 and will offer special online introductory rates through May 31, Pfund said. Packages starting at $89 per person include three activities, lunch and transportation from Waikiki, he said.

Though they could soon be locked in an intense battle for market share, both companies are expected to benefit from strengthening visitor demand and spending. The Hawaii Tourism Authority reported last week that February was the seventh consecutive month of arrivals growth for Hawaii’s visitor industry and the 23rd month of spending increases.

Recent legislation that commercializes Ala Wai Harbor also could create a firmer customer foothold.

"The ability to use the Ala Wai Harbor will help make our activity more accessible for our Waikiki visitor in terms of cutting down travel time over the congested Ala Moana Boulevard," Pfund said.

Norton said Waikiki Ocean Club also would be shuttling some of its customers from Ala Wai Harbor.

Picking up customers at Ala Wai Harbor wasn’t allowed until a law change in the last legislative session, said Meghan Statts, Oahu district manager for the state Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation.

The change could make both new businesses more appealing to tourists. However, Statts said that it was opposed by some nearby residents and that the state has already received one complaint regarding a training pickup by the Aikane III.

"The new businesses are good for the economy and for tourists, but I want to see them going out of Kewalo Basin," said Bruce Lenkeit, an Ilikai resident. "Moving them to Ala Wai doesn’t create additional revenue. It just moves it."

Lenkeit said he is among those who are concerned that allowing large-scale commercial operations at Ala Wai Harbor will increase traffic and add to parking woes in an already congested neighborhood.

Some also fear for the safety of surfers and other water users like the junior boaters in the region, he said.