Paulie

Paulie is one of the five Dock One Foremen of Water 7 specializing in rigging, knots & masts, recently promoted to Vice President of the Galley-La Company.

Appearance
Paulie is rarely without a cigar in his mouth or his flame detailed denim jacket. (Though in the Post-Enies Lobby Arc he wore a black jacket emblazoned with roses and chains.) His hair is blond and slicked back on his head while wearing a pair of orange goggles on top. He's usually seen frowning.

Personality
Paulie is shown as the closest to and most trusted by Iceburg. He also shows a prudish outlook on the way many female characters dress. Unlike most other characters such as Sanji, Paulie often becomes outraged at how much body women such as Nami and Kalifa show off when they are in the company of men.

When he is first introduced, he tries to steal two suitcases full of money from Luffy to pay off his gambling debts. Though he is thwarted by Lucci and pulled back on land by his ear and gives back the suitcases, he asks for 10% of the cash if Luffy really wanted to thank him, shortly before being knocked out by Lucci with a hammer.

Fighting Style
Paulie has a unique fighting style; he makes use of an intricate array of acrobatics combined with rigging techniques that employs a complicated use of ropes that appear from under his sleeves. It is also versatile, since the ropes enable him to increase the reach of his attacks - be it long-ranged, mid-ranged, or even melee - and even attack multiple targets at once, giving Paulie an advantage at battle, be it group combat or one-on-one. The amount of rope he carries is absurd, which led some to speculate it was the power of a devil fruit, measuring hundreds, if not thousands of meters as he was actually able to make a huge, complex rope-work in a split-second to keep not only himself, but also the entire Franky Family, their Kingbulls, Oimo, and Kasshii from falling into the huge pit in Enies Lobby. He also boasts that the Galley-la rope he carries never breaks no matter what loads it carries, a fact made apparent at the near end of the Enies Lobby Arc, where Paulie's ropes were able to support the weight of not only the Galley-La foremen as well as the Franky Family, but also the mass of two Elbaf giants hanging at mid-air from their ankles, preventing them from falling into the great ravine. The amount of ropes, that he uses as a weapon and brings with himself all the time, never seems to run out, since he has been known to pull yards upon yards from time to time.

When he attacks, the ropes generally snake their way out his sleeve and wrap around the target and typically weaves his ropes into patterns that help him to either ensnare foes or restrain their movements, making them more vulnerable to incoming attack. Paulie can also uses his ropes outside of battle, as seen when he successfully deceived the marines that he's already been captured when in reality, he deliberately tied himself up with his own ropes and was just waiting for the right time to release himself, the Franky Family, and the giants

Past
During the opening day of the Puffing Tom, a young Paulie was seen attending it's coronation. Inspired by this event, Paulie decided to become a shipwright. He then grew up and joined the Galley-La Company. He then became one of the company's top foremen.

Water 7 Arc
Paulie appeared running away from debt collectors. To escape, he hijacked a Yagara Bull the Franky Family was using to steal the Straw Hats' money. He then tried to steal the money himself, but was stopped by Rob Lucci who then got into a brief fight with him.

Later, after the attempted murder on Iceburg he searched for the Straw Hats with the Galley La to eliminate them. But Franky has interrupted the battle then Luffy and Nami escaped.

When night fell, the whole Galley La company guarded the office thinking that the murderer will attack Iceburg again. Iceburg asked him to go to his office to retrieve a fake drawing of the Pluton. As he was retrieving it, he was surprised by two masked strangers who had no problem dealing with him. Right as he was about to be killed, Luffy crashed into the wall, proving to him that the attempted assassin weren't the Straw Hat Crew, he was then trapped together with Luffy and left to die.

However, with the help of Luffy, he got free and ran to Iceburg's aid. There, it was revealed to him that Lucci, Kaku, Kalifa and Blueno were all working undercover for the government. He tried to get Iceburg out, but was stopped by Lucci. He was then saved by Chopper who got him and Iceburg out of the burning building.

He later helped Nami and Chopper search for Luffy and Zoro to go save Nico Robin. He rescued them as they were about to get washed away by a wave. As the crew was determined to follow the train carrying Robin, he tried to stop them because of the phenomenon called Aqua Laguna.

He was later seen on the Rocket Man along with the Galley La and joined forces with the Franky Family and Straw Hat Pirates, they passed through the Aqua Laguna and proceeded to Enies Lobby.

Enies Lobby Arc
As they were reaching Enies Lobby, Paulie drew a map (he had been there before to repair the rails) and planned how they will go inside. As they were waiting for the time to land, Luffy had already flown into Enies Lobby and started rampaging there. When they attack the island, together with the Franky Family and his comrades, they defeated Oimo and Kāshī. When they entered the gate, a Marine Dog Officer faced them, and was stabbed by the leader. The Rocket Man suddenly landed with the remaining Straw Hats.

As they were riding the Franky Family's King Bulls, he asked Zoro that "If you meet them (the four traitors), tell them that they're fired." But Sodom has been shot in the heart and collapsed. Together with Lulu and Tilestone, they fight the remaining Marines. Later as they were about to collapse, they see Oimo and Kāshī with Sogeking, but not as enemies rather as allies. When they reach the Courthouse,with the Franky Family they defeat Baskerville.

As the Buster Call was summoned, he tied himsef up with his own ropes as the other were tied up by the Marines, waiting for an oppotunity to escape. Kāshī and Oimo carried them to the front gates where battleships fired at them. Paulie caught them with his rope and they finally escape. They hijacked the Puffing Tom and returned to Water 7.

Post Enies Lobby Arc
After the events of Enies Lobby, Paulie and the others all returned to Water 7, where he lead the reconstruction on the Galley-La Company main headquarters. Along with Iceburg, Lulu and Tilestone, he joined Franky in building a new ship for the Straw Hat Pirates.

Trivia

 * His birthday was revealed to be July 8th. This is because, in Japanese, 7 can be pronounced as "na" and 8 can be pronounced as "wa", which creates "nawa", meaning rope.
 * Early on in the Water 7 arc and into the Enies Lobby arc, some fans speculated Paulie may in future join the Straw Hats.
 * In One Piece: Unlimited Adventure Paulie is an "Optional Boss", he is also a playable character in Team Battle/Survival Mode.
 * In the Where are they now? story arc, Paulie is shown being chased by fans and debt-collectors.
 * Paulie bears a strong resemblance to Cid Highwind from the video game Final Fantasy VII.