Anyone who ’ s been in the boating industry more than 20 years likely knows the name of Paul Kuck , the celebrated founder of Regal Boats . He was an actively engaged , visionary leader who launched the company in 1969 and built it into a worldwide brand of luxury pleasure boats .

Today , Kuck ’ s 53-year legacy continues to unfold with Regal ’ s line of award-winning sport and surf boats , cruisers , yachts and SAV ( sports activity vessels ) ranging from 20 to 42 feet indemand and selling in 40 + countries . One of the premier privately-held , family-owned boat manufacturing businesses still remaining , Regal ’ s growth has been successfully managed and directed by Paul ’ s sons Duane and Tim since his

By Wanda Kenton Smith passing in 2006 , both of whom grew up in the business and forged lifetime careers .

Today , the third generation is stepping up into key leadership positions , overseeing the Orlando , Fla . based workforce of 875 . Paul ’ s first grandson and his namesake Paul - son of Duane and Cindy - was recently appointed chief operating officer with responsibility for overall operations and results . With 15 years invested in daily business operations to date , he has already earned key accolades including leading his team to win the coveted Boating Magazine “ Boat of the Year ” award for its 29 OBX in 2016 , along with several top marketing recognitions . He ’ s previously been named a Boating Industry 40 Under 40 and serves on the NMMA BMD board of directors .

Paul has worked in virtually all areas throughout the organization and is well-poised and readily prepared to further propel Regal ’ s success story into the future .

Boating Industry ( BI ): What ’ s your personal boating experience … and your favorite memories ? Paul Kuck ( PK ): I ’ ve been a boater my entire life . I ’ ve been driving boats as long as I can remember . I ’ ve had the incredible opportunity to boat in many places across the country and truly enjoy boating in any environment .

My favorite and most memorable boating experiences certainly come from the Abacos in the Bahamas . There ’ s a lot of family history there ; my mom is a Bahamian and my grandfather grew up in the Abacos .

Each summer , we would spend a week or two with my parents and grandparents in the islands - fishing , diving and just enjoying God ’ s beautiful creation . We spent many days on the water , learning the islands , the history and the waterways . This is still my favorite place and I take every opportunity possible to return . There ’ s just something about the salt island air that makes me happy and rejuvenates me . It ’ s been awesome to now be able to do some of the things I was doing as a kid , with my own kids .

Paul Kuck , recently named COO of

Regal Boats .

BI : In addition to earning your marketing degree from the University of Central Florida , what has been your career path at Regal that led to your present position ? PK : Prior to being employed , I spent many summers assisting the marketing department , mostly cleaning boats on photo shoots and at various boating events . My first real memory , besides just being a boat cleaner , was being left out on the lake during the middle of a photo shoot with a boat that was no longer needed for the evening session and thinking … wow , I am really here on this boat all by myself and have to bring it back and put it away with no help !

I officially started my career at Regal in IT and then spent quite a bit of time in marketing , eventually leading the marketing team . From there , I moved to product development and engineering , starting out as a product manager for our sport boats , and then eventually leading the entire PD & E team . From there , I picked up responsibilities for manufacturing .

BI : What are some of the key challenges of working in a familyowned business ? PK : Family business brings a lot of passion . Most of the time this is good , but sometimes it causes people ( me ) to take things personally , which is not always a good thing . In addition , family business brings a lot of consistency , which is also great in many circumstances , but sometimes it makes it difficult to initiate change or bring about new ideas .

14 March 2023 www . boatingindustry . com