The good thing about boats is, that there is never an end: Not for their size, their shape, their performance or luxury. Renowned boatbuilder Paul Hakes just freshly launched his brand new catamaran brand Shift Yachts – and we seized the unique opportunity to talk with him about the origins, the ideas behind the brand and where he´s heading. Spoiler: Paul says, they want to do nothing short of creating the “Ultimate Couples Performance Cruiser”
Paul Hakes is probably among the most lush, likeable and accessible boating industry professionals I know. Knowing about his background and his awe-inspiring, fascinating past achievements, Paul is surely one of the most prolific, straightforward and innovative boatbuilders you can have. Both when it comes to monohulls, but much more when it comes to catamarans. These are seem to be his true passion.
Acknowledging his announcement two or three days ago about the official launch of his new cat brand, called “Shift Yachts”, I sent him a message and asked if he would be willing to talk about the background, the ideas and the aim a bit. And he agreed. So here we are: Aside the official press release, I tried to tease out a bit more of the personal things which moved him. Thanks, Paul, for being that open!
What´s behind the new catamaran brand Shift Yachts?
Lars Reisberg | NO FRILLS SAILING.com: “Congrats, Paul, for the launch of your new project, Shift! You´ve hinted such a venture when we last talked, tell us how long have you been planning to start your new brand?”
Paul Hakes | Shift Yachts: “Hi there, Lars! Good to see you too! Well, the wheels started turning in June 2024, this is when I gave notice to HH Catamarans. I was so disappointed in what had happened that I was unsure whether I would even stay in the marine industry. But I still had a compelling need to somehow prove to the new boat market that it can be done absolutely right. The manifestation of starting a new brand was cemented in place in November 2024, having a BBQ and beer with my son James at his house. After much talk, and more beer, we asked ourselves, “Can we, are we, good enough, are we brave enough?” The answers were all unequivocally “Yes!”; so there and then we raised a toast to our new partnership, our new dream, and gave ourselves a year … or so. There was plenty to think about, how the company would work, the boats, names, builders, other people. It was a mammoth task ahead!”
Lars Reisberg | NO FRILLS SAILING.com: “I see. So it is a father-son project. How cool is that?! Tell us, what´s the name “Shift” about and how does it reflect what sailors can expect from your new catamarans?”
Paul Hakes | Shift Yachts: “We just love the name! It is so symbolic, representative of so many of the things we are aiming to achieve. Firstly a shift is what we, all sailors, are looking for when heading to the top mark, or tacking upwind to an anchorage. That favorable shift in the wind giving another 5 or 10 degrees to course made good; that makes any sailor smile, right? Secondly a shift can be described as a precision movement, I like this as we have been very precise in our movements to get this brand running and in what we have designed. Yet, Shift as a brand is about a reliable enjoyment for the sailor. This means shifting the goals on everything; design has to be the best it can be for the design brief given.
Paul Hakes | Shift Yachts: “The boat has to perform reliably to its intended purpose, if that purpose is performance. It has got be fast enough to exhilarate its owner and embarrass the competitors, if its passage making, it must be safe and reliable, and if its comfort, then it must appeal and delight all the right senses. We also want to shift the expectations of excellence, we must deliver excellence in every aspect to the client throughout his journey with us! And I suppose, finally we are asking the client, the sailor to make a mind shift, a shift to what really matters in a sailing boat, and what’s really important to go cruising. And shift away from excess, the surplus complications. Let’s shift to beautiful sailing!”
Starting a new yacht brand – now?!
Lars Reisberg | NO FRILLS SAILING.com: “As a very successful boatbuilder with a long standing track record, what makes Shift different to your previous projects and brands? What can we expect from Shift Yachts?”
Paul Hakes | Shift Yachts: “Additional to what I told you before, I guess the difference is experience, and using that to foresee a direction that will appeal to the market, and maintaining control for the desired outcome. When I owned Hakes Marine, we built race boats, custom boats, repaired and refitted boats, essentially taking in any work we had the ability to do. Clients came to us with the designs and dreams already set, we just made the dreams reality with hard dusty work. With Hudson, it was a build management process: First to get the Gunboat 60 production and the new factory sorted out, and then it was building the HH Brand and developing the boats to make the factory a success. But I did not have control to stop the zealous over expansion and the subsequent fall out.”
Paul Hakes | Shift Yachts: “So, experience tells me, keep control! Do what I am good at, which is building and developing great boats and great people, and let’s see if we can’t put together a top notch-team, a top-notch brand and build some boats that clients will relish owning.”
About the first boat, the new Shift 54
Lars Reisberg | NO FRILLS SAILING.com: “Tell us more about the first boat, the Shift 54+ please. What had been the cornerstones of its invention, where is it positioned in terms of sailing performance, comforts and such?”
Paul Hakes | Shift Yachts: “The fun part, and working with James, who is an outstanding designer and qualified Naval Architect, it really is fun! He treats me like the client “so what’s the design brief?”, he asked. Simple, I say: “Lets’ do what we have been doing, because we are the best at it, we know there is a good market for it, but let´s do it better. Let’s create the “Ultimate Couples Performance Cruiser”! Performance meant James’s eyes light up, the challenge is on to outperform all in her category, and as for the look: Simple, it just has to be dead drop gorgeous! If I wanted to drive across Europe or the USA, I would choose an Aston Martin DB12, comfort, performance and the style, so beautiful. I wanted our new yacht to be considered the DB12 of the seas! And this where James’s skill set really comes to play, his ability to combine incredible aesthetics with the practicality needed for world cruising. In all design decisions we pushed safety and simplicity. We know, the simpler we can make a system, the lighter it is and the more reliable it is. These are direct attributes to performance and safety. We exercised restraint in some areas just so that we could afford abundance in others. So, the hulls and living areas really are well appointed and very comfortable. But there is not four cabins, not three or four toilets, after all we are designing for the couple and immediate family.”
Lars Reisberg | NO FRILLS SAILING.com: “Can you delve deeper into some details of the new catamaran? Materials used, innovations, specialties and such?”
Paul Hakes | Shift Yachts: “The focus of the Shift 54+ is very much on performance from weight saving, centralizing weight and placement of the mast in relationship to the daggerboards and rudders, even though this meant a little less salon space to bring the mast aft enough. All for better sailing efficiency, easier sailing. The daggerboards are asymmetric for additional lift up wind, the rudders are special too, they are outboard of C/L, towed out at 6 degrees, and sit against a hull flat spot. These performance enhancements don’t make the boat harder to control, on the contrary, they make the boat easier to sail. The boat is more planted, handles the speed and power from the mainsail more comfortably. Even centralizing the weight means less violent pitching, a more comfortable ride in the waves.”
Paul Hakes | Shift Yachts: “The carbon mast option is rotating, adding performance without adding sail area, but it also makes reefing far easier and safer when you can rotate the mast in alignment with the mainsail battens. The rudders are off centerline, so they are clear of the turbulent water from the propellers, and canted outboard so when the boat is heeling the leeward rudder is vertical giving more control and traction where it is needed. All these add up to make the miles easier, no need to push as we have looked for sailing efficiencies everywhere. James loves to say our performance is inherent not pushed. I guess it´s like that Aston Martin sitting at 160 kilometers per hours on the freeway. It is planted, it is safe and it is totally comfortable.”
Paul Hakes | Shift Yachts: “There are many other clever innovations from the multi configurable cockpit seats and helm chairs, the unobstructed living space between the salon and cockpit, the best access aft storage areas ever (that are big enough to fit 5 surfboards each!), so dive gear and all the toys are a dream to stow and access. The list goes on, but we have only innovated to make the boat sensible to own and use, not for the sake of innovation. I like to think we have thought about what really matters to cruisers.”
Building boats in Asia
Lars Reisberg | NO FRILLS SAILING.com: “Where will the Shift 54+ catamaran be built? Who is the team, and who are you partnering up with in making those renderings become reality?”
Paul Hakes | Shift Yachts: “All our design, renders and such we produce in-house. James is the magician and his hat is running 256 Gigabytes of RAM, which is often tapped out when doing FEA and foil shape development. Along the way we have been fortunate to have invaluable help from Seth Haynes, YouTube Sailing Family and ex HH Catamaran President. I employed Seth about four years ago, as well as being totally awesome at his job, we became friends, for life I like to think. He devoted many months to helping develop both the brand and the boat. Another great man who mentors me is Sir Richard Matthews. I built him two race boats over the years, Oystercatcher 28 and OC30. Both boats on time and to expectations. For the founder and owner of Oyster Yachts for over 40 years he was impressed, and we have had a trusting friendship ever since. I have another ex HH Catamaran client who is an investor and has been great support along the way too. The team also consists of a social media manager, financial control and Directorship, and assistance from my lovely wife. We are small now, but the great support has meant James and myself have focused on the product and branding.”
Lars Reisberg | NO FRILLS SAILING.com: “And what about the builder, the very shipyard that will produce the boats?”
Paul Hakes | Shift Yachts: “Our builder is Adventure Yachts in Thailand. I spent over six months travelling around. Inspecting seven different yards who expressed an interest in our little project. Adventure Yachts had just completed building the NO EXCUSE, a carbon sailing cat, that I spent three days on, inspecting every compartment. She was beautiful, living up to her namesake. In their yard they had 3 x 60’ epoxy carbon powercats in production, so I could see their processing techniques at each stage. I was super impressed with their laminating, painting and fit and finish! There was almost nothing I wanted to change in their manufacturing techniques. Their quality was well above that of HH Catamarans even. Then, on my third visit to the yard, I met their Production Manager, Dean Thompson, we laughed. Almost 35 years ago we were standing side by side waxing moulds and sanding boats together, small world …”
Lars Reisberg | NO FRILLS SAILING.com: “Launching a new brand into a really beaten up market seems like a great risk. What makes you so optimistic about Shift getting the clients in numbers it needs to succeed?”
Paul Hakes | Shift Yachts: “Well one thing: I am not looking for numbers! I am looking to give each client a quality experience, and so we are definitely capped on production, and will only issue limited build slots every year. Secondly, as we believe this is the Ultimate Cruising Couples boat, we have made it available in a few iterations, to make it appeal to a wider audience. It can start with an E-Glass carbon reinforced model with shorter E-Glass dagger boards, aluminum mast and boom, through to an enhanced performance model with 100% carbon construction including furniture and higher performance foils. All models are built with Epoxy resin and thermoformed foam core, with a premium paint finish, this does not change. But having the different iterations and a good suit of options makes the boat affordable for those seeking the Aston Martin approach to sailing and cruising. But with the Mercedes budget, its more affordable. So I know the market is tough right now, but for those wanting a new performance catamaran be it an Outremer, Balance or HH Catamaran, I think we will be considered. And we know markets are cyclic, and as a boat builder I am an eternal optimist, that means as we finish boat #01 the market will be bouncing back.”
When will the first Shift catamaran be in the water?
Lars Reisberg | NO FRILLS SAILING.com: “When and where are we expected to see the first Shift live on a boat show?”
Paul Hakes | Shift Yachts: “So, tooling starts very soon. We have allowed ourselves a good margin to build the first boat. One, because I never want to disappoint a client by being late; and two, we want to spend at least two months if not three, testing and living on this boat to ensure all systems are perfectly designed and executed. So, all things being said I think we will see hull #001 sailing in the first three months in 2028, perhaps at a boat show in that same quarter, let´s hope!”
Paul, thanks so much for your precious time! As usual, it was a pleasure talking to you. Since it is highly doubtful that I will be able to fly down to Thailand (which is a shame, I know) I hope we can meet at one of the upcoming European boat shows, maybe Cannes, maybe La Grande Motte? Who knows! All the best for you and your new project, the Shift Catamaran brand!
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Boats and people – it´s mutually inclusive. My first encounter with Paul
Aboard the HH Catamaran, a wow! In Carbon fiber.
My first time sailing on a catamaran: Storm in the Bay of Biscay!
