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 in One Piece 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, 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 Frany 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 - giving the impression that he's a Devil Fruit user with ability to create ropes at will

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

Techniques
Rope Action Round Turn: Ropes grab several enemies from opposing directions with somewhere Paulie in between before pulling all ropes together, causing the victims to slam (usually head-first) against one another. Can be done while jumoing off from a higher place above the targets. Rope Action Bowline Knot: A long-range attack where Paulie launches rope that ties around an opponent's wrist. Usually followed by Oshioki: Ippon Tsuri. Oshioki: Ippon Tsuri (Punishment: Gone Fishing): Paulie flips a foe over him and slams him into the floor.

Rope Action Half-Knot Air Drive: An attack similar to Bowline Knot, only rope ties around an opponent's neck instead, choking them before he/she is slammed into the floor.

Rope Action Figure 8 Knot: Mid-ranged multi-directional attack. Eight ropes with their knotted tightly shoot out like fists in eight directions. Can be used to hit the same target at once. Rope Action Timber Hitch Tug: Paulie jumps into the air, somersaults, and unleashes several ropes grab the hair of a giant enemy and the force of Paulie's fall pulls the enemy down.

Rope Action Top Knot: Submission technique. A rope spirals upwards and around an enemy, and by pulling with enough force (either by Paulie alone or with the help of others), the enemy spins like a top and eventually collapses from dizzyness. Half Knot Air Drive: A much grander version of its predecessor. Ropes coil around several enemies, allowing Paulie to slam them into the ground. Shrouds and Rat-Line Knot: A net of rope slams into several enemies. Pipe Hitch Knives: Paulie launches a rope with a row of knives tied into it (with the blades jutting out alternatively) in an attempt to cut or slash the target.

History
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.

Paulie first appeared to the Straw Hats as one of the five Galley-La foreman of Dock 1 in Water 7, specialising in the mast and rigging.

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. He then- along with Iceburg, lulu and Tilestone- 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 Japanese fan polls, Paulie is currently voted the 18th most popular character.
 * In One Piece: Unlimited Adventure Paulie is an "Optional Boss", he is also a playable character in Team Battle/Survival Mode. In the English version of the game, Paulie's name is spelled "Pauly".