Extremely happyI built my Revo 601 hard top custom in 2008 and I'm extremely happy with the finished product. I still have the boat to this day (2015).
I found Jim very easy to deal with and very willing to incorporate my ideas into the design. The design is a very sea worthy boat. We often fish 20 to 30 nautical miles from shore and have never felt like we are pushing the limit. I feel I will still have this boat for a few years yet, but when it does come time for me to upgrade, I will be going back to Jim. Mike Holdaway Professional boat builder Tauranga Wide knowledge of anything to do with boating
I have been dealing with Jim Pauling (Revo Boats) for the past seven years. He has designed and overseen four boats during this time.
I have found Jim great to deal with, especially with his eye for detail and back-up on his designs for these boats. The biggest hull was 9m and the smallest 3m. His boats have all performed particularly well with emphasis on strength, but still light. When I have put questions to him, at no time have I found Jim to be stumped for an answer; he has a wide knowledge of anything to do with boating. I have been lucky to have met Jim. Had I not, I think I would have ended up like a lot of other boaties with an inferior design, as there are a lot of them out there. I have no hesitation recommending Jim Pauling from Revo Boats. Bill Winmill Beachcraft Boats, Otago 0274 325 403 Gillion Logging & Firewood Ltd 0274 325 403 Excellent design and well constructed
I have been running a Superfly Revo 601 custom for a dedicated saltwater fly fishing charter for over a year.
The boat was an innovative and unusual craft to present to the maritime authoritiies for commercial use, and having nothing to compare it to, they questioned every aspect of the material, construction and design. As skipper I had my own questions as to how the boat would perform in the shallow harbour flats, and also, how it would deal with the short steep waves the are common in the Hauraki Gulf. Once approved and licensed for charter, we decided to undertake several months of heavy weather testing, in order to satisfy ourselves, for the comfort and safety for our clients. Our first summer season is almost over and we have had multiple positive comments from our clients on the boat's performance. Whether it's gliding along in knee-deep water, chasing kingfish, or navigating the wind and tide on our way back to port, it's fair to say that the boat performs better than we could have hoped for. Thank you Jim and the team for an excellent design and well constructed boat. Matthew von Sturmer www.saltflyfish.co.nz www.facebook.com/saltflyfish Over the moon
For some time I had been looking for a hull to operate out of river bars of South Westland; the bars in this area of New Zealand are notorious for claiming boats, so I needed something purpose built and had to be jet. None of the local designs were suitable.
I had met a guy who had built an 8m Pelin hull with 115 diesel Yamar driving Hamilton unit and the boat performed very well. So I went ahead and bought the working plans. I got in touch with a boat builder and discussed plans with him. He was quick to point out that the plans were designed for wooden construction and was old hat for aluminium. So that put me on the back foot a bit. It was about then that I picked up a NZ Boating Magazine and saw Jim's concept of building a hull. I got in touch with him and found myself in Auckland checking out his 9M hull. This hull was powered by outboard but the beam of the boat and the looks of it had me interested. I explained to Jim what I required and left it with him. It wasn't too long before the 9M Rêvo jet hull was on its way to my workshop. The aluminium was laser cut with a laser cut jig. I found building the hull was straight forward, with help from Jim. I have done quite a bit of engineering, but this was my first time with aluminium. I assembled all the panels (tacked) and then got a pro in to do the serious welding. I went for a 375 HP Yamaha and Konrad Scott's new 9.5" unit. Konrad was feeling his way with the impellors; he couldn't get over the torque the Yamar had and we ended up with 22degrees pitched impellors. When the boat was light it took it out to 38knots.. Fully loaded weight now has taken it back to 30knots. 12 months down the track and a bloody lot of hours it was completed with help. I am over the moon by the way it performs, especially on the bars and in shallow water; we can pretty well work the tide any time. In the heavy going, it is soft riding and I haven't felt threatened yet; we have been in one or two blows as can happen in South Westland. During the build the back-up from Jim was excellent and I would recommend his designs and build to anybody. |
Hassle free from start to finishWhen we had a need to develop and build a specialised salt fly boat for commercial operation, it was an easy decision to engage Jim Pauling Yacht Design.
There were a number of challenges on the project, including unique polyethylene construction materials and methods, and the need to meet survey requirements. Jim was personally involved in all aspects of the project, from the initial concept briefing, materials and design calculations, through to project managing the build ensuring a quality build and hassle free construction from start to finish. Jim Pauling was the only naval architect with the skill set required to fulfil our brief. His track record as an experienced designer with numerous vessels commissioned over many years and performing well, along with his practical knowledge as a boat builder is a winning combination. Jim's personal management style was also critical in the success of the project. He is inclusive and detail focused which ensured a coordinated and efficient build. Brett Patterson Advertising Manager Boating New Zealand Auckland Safety is my first priority
As a father, and a superyacht captain, (who has done some of the most extreme passages), safety of those onboard is my first priority. To achieve this, I look for critical elements in a boat: good design, good structural engineering, good handling and practicality.
In Jim's boats you will get these in spades. You won't find any boat of the same size that out perform Jim's, and most will be left severely wanting. Go for the best. Stephen Jones Professional Boat builder Marine Engineer Superyacht Captain Auckland Design modification
The main tender for T6, a 10m aluminium vessel with jet and a 480hp Man Diesel, did not perform as expected/specified.
Based on a recommendation, we approached Jim Pauling to work out what, if any, options there were to enable the vessel to achieve what was originally specified in the design brief. Jim reviewed the design and gave recommendations which eliminated the design faults and made the vessel a very seaworthy and useful tender to T6. With the design modifications the tender became a very useable vessel for long distance exploring maintaining the specified 38kt design speed. We found Jim to be thorough in his review of the design and the recommended changes carefully thought out. In the settlement negotiations Jim was very helpful with presenting all the necessary data in a clear, concise way. We were very pleased with the outcome and as a result we did not revert to Plan B, which was to design and build a completely new tender. Master Superyacht T6 A fantastic project
We were approached to build a bigger jet, for a diesel powered jet boat, by a customer who already ran one of our smaller jets in his river boat. He knew the advantages of our two stage design and was looking for better performance than what was currently available from existing jets.
We agreed to take a look at the project and to see if it was feasible to build a suitable jet. We had a look at the initial boat drawings from Jim Pauling and were very pleased with what we saw. We supply waterjets all over the world and build boats ourselves, so we don’t often come across designers who understand jet boats well. Jim's attention to detail and focus on controlling weight was very pleasing. The owner's passion for building not just any boat, but an excellent boat, really got us motivated to build a suitable jet. After a good look at the overall specs and doing the calcs we set about designing and building a suitable jet for this project as it would give us the ultimate test bed for a new bigger jet. After closely looking at the engine characteristics (Yanmar 350hp diesel) and understanding the overall weight and performance criteria we settled on a 9.5’’ two stage design model Scott WaterJet 952. I completed a set or drawings for the new jet and then we built a set of moulds to cast the housings from. Once we had these cast we machined and assembled the jet, ready for the owner to install. In comparison to our normal production jet’s this was a big beast and featured our patented trim nozzle system and fully hydraulic reverse system. We sent this down to the owner who installed it and finished off the build. After initial sea trials, a base line for further testing was achieved and we built a bigger set of impellors to fully utilise the engine's output. These were installed and tested by the owner who reported outstanding performance figures of 39.7 knots, which is exceptional for a boat of this size. We were sure we could have nudged it over the 40 knot mark, but settled for achieving good load lifting and cruising rather than the ultimate top speed. I got to go for a brief run not long after this. When I arrived we had a small window of opportunity to run the boat due to the tide. I was surprised at the size of the boat when I first saw it as I am used to seeing our 4-5m river boats. This was indeed a big beast, but it looked very much in proportion and had a nice aggressive stance with its forward facing screens. You could immediately tell this had been built to do a job rather than look like a supemodel. It was my kind of boat. We dropped it in the drink and warmed it up. The owner warned us to hang on which was a good tip. It leapt onto the plain as he dropped the throttle, which was very surprising for such a big boat. He eased into a comfortable cruise and headed to sea. The ride was very smooth and soft and the overall smoothness of the hull, engine and jet package was very pleasing. Once at sea we were told to hang on as he put it through its paces. The handling and nimbleness really surprised me and much like being in a smaller boat, it had very precise, nimble handling with a superb ride. I was very, very impressed with the overall handling, performance and smoothness. This has been a fantastic project for us to be involved in, not only working with fantastic people, but also with people that know what they are doing. This is a very impressive package. Konrad Scott CEO Scott Water Jet |
Comments from people who have been aboard our revolutionary Rêvo WASP 742
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Colin Simpson, professional skipper, commercial fisherman
“This is the best cat I have ever been on by a long way. If I had the money I would order a 20 metre version right now. It is so smooth and the way it can operate at any speed makes it very appealing to me as a commercial operator. The handling is phenomenal. And the plastic was a great material to build the boat in.” Jason Swan, engineer, alloy boat builder
“This is it, this is what I want. It is so smooth and feels so right. It just seems so effortless in the way it moves and handles. It does what it has to do without any fuss. It’s perfect I love it. I wasn’t so sure about the layout but after going for a run in the boat, the forward cockpit is magic. I know from moving the boat around in the shed with Jim that it was stiff and strong but I was amazed at how solid the boat felt underway in the water.” Peter Kearney, former owner of Glasscraft Boats, developer of the Rayglass Sportsman 22, now spends most of his time cruising worldwide in his yacht
“The thing that hits you about the boat is the smoothness and quietness of the boat. The way it moves through the speed range is much like an automatic car. There seems to be no transition from displacement to planing, no big sticky hump to climb over before she accelerates, it just seems to keep increasing in speed more like a displacement cat than a planing cat but it is planing. Jim is at the forefront of development with this material and it is exciting to see where it will go from here. This boat looks stunning and feels fantastic. Very impressive.” |
Danny Clark (owner of the Rêvo WASP 742)
I undertook the once in a lifetime project (for me) of having a boat specifically built for my needs. I live on a tidal waterfront with a family of 5 who love a cross section of maritime activities including cruising, fishing and water sports. My family wanted a boat with a bow rider area to relax, toilet for the girls and fast enough to enjoy wake boarding and skiing. From my perspective, I wanted a boat with a low draft so I could get maximum usage with the tides. I also wanted a boat which was a safe and stable fishing platform outside the Botany Bay heads. I was also concerned about corrosion as I have heard plenty of horror stories of fishos dropping sinkers in boats which make their way through the subfloor only to corrode the aluminium floor. I did plenty of research on boat builders and I had narrowed my choice down to two professional; one based out of North Queensland and the second Jim Pauling in Auckland. Jim initially priced an aluminium boat for me, so too did the North Queensland builder. When I met with Jim and discussed my situation and requirements, Jim brought up the idea of the HDPE boat. I had a look at Jim’s 6m fly fishing boat and I was very impressed. What impressed me more was Jim’s experience and skills, he designed me a boat which he could “float” on his computer so I could see what the final draft would be like. He also spent plenty of time going through all aspects of the project and the benefits of the HDPE. Coming form Australia and having a boat built in NZ could have added more risk and additional problems. None manifested. Three things resulted from my first meeting with Jim:
So now I have my boat. I could not be more pleased. The draft ended up around 280mm, better than spec. This means a lot to our usage ability. The boat is a soft ride, the HDPE and design seem to absorb swell and chop to provide a quiet “slap free” ride. The space on the boat is great, we have a free flowing deck, leading to a bow rider section, all easily accessible. The beam is not wasted with a CAT and we have as much space up the front as we do in the stern. The boat gets on the plane very easily, even on one motor and because of the weight and the sleek design it is very fuel efficient. I get pretty close to 0.8 nautical miles for litre of petrol. It also looks great. I could not have been happier with the result or the process. A text I received from the owner a week after we left him with the boat in Sydney Hi Jim, We took the boat for a good run today. We went outside the heads. The swell was 4 to 5 metres so it was very testing. All went very well. A great test. |