Duane DeSoto's "regular" job is in construction.

But as a professional longboard surfer, his summer project is to construct a nest egg for his growing family.

"I got babies to take care of," DeSoto said. "So any money I can make will help."

DeSoto received $1,200 yesterday after winning the pro-am division of the Steinlager Shaka Longboard Series at Kuhio Beach, Waikiki.

It was the third of five events in the summer series. DeSoto has won the past two.

DeSoto and his wife, Malia, recently moved to 'Ewa with their four children. They are expecting another baby in January.

"I guess if we're going to keep making babies, I have to keep doing good in contests," he said with a laugh.

Wave-face heights were predicted to be between 6 to 10 feet, but it never got quite that big yesterday.

"Everybody was saying it was going to be really big, so I guess it didn't live up to the hype," said DeSoto, 30. "But actually, I like it better like this. It was ideal conditions for a contest. This spot gets hard to figure out when it's too big. Today was good — not real big, but big enough that the wave had some power."

A rising tide led to inconsistent conditions in the 20-minute final.

DeSoto won despite catching only three waves. Fortunately for him, none of the other surfers in the final heat caught more than three waves as well.

"Luckily, my first wave was a good one," he said. "But I never got a second one, so when I came in, I wasn't sure how I did."

DeSoto's top two waves received scores of 8.83 and 5.33 for a total of 14.16.

Isaac Kaneshiro placed second with a two-wave total of 13.67. Keegan Edwards was third with 12.5. Ned Snow caught only one wave in the final and placed fourth with a score of 6.5.

Kaneshiro, who is from 'Ewa Beach, has been the surprise of the Steinlager series so far. Through the first three events, he is ranked No. 1 in the overall standings with 2,523 points. De-Soto is No. 2 with 2,000.

"I'm kind of surprised myself to be up there," said Kaneshiro, 33. "But now I want to try and win it because I'm not really a pro longboarder like some of these other guys."

Kaneshiro was one of Hawai'i's top-ranked professional shortboard surfers in the 1990s, but he recently started longboard surfing.

"I started getting into longboarding about two years ago," he said. "It's pretty much the same as shortboarding, so I'm comfortable with it. I just had to practice."

In longboard surfing, competitors must ride boards at least 9 feet long. Shortboards are usually around 6 to 7 feet.

Like DeSoto, Kaneshiro is a construction worker. They often see each other surfing in the late afternoons off 'Ewa Beach.

"Isaac is out there every day I go out there," DeSoto said. "There's a great wave to practice on at Hau Bush. It's kind of a small and weak wave, but it gets you ready for anything."

In addition to the pro-am final, the stand-up paddle division also was completed yesterday.

Kamaki Worthington, entering for the first time, took first place. Kai Sallas placed second, followed by series leader Leleo Kinimaka.

The Steinlager series also features various age divisions for amateur surfers. Those divisions will run today at Kuhio Beach.

The next contest in the series is scheduled for July 21 and 22 at Ala Moana Bowls. For more information, visit www.hspsurf.org.

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.